


Pine, Pining

by awkwardedgeworth



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, avatar AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:02:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24647650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardedgeworth/pseuds/awkwardedgeworth
Summary: The world came to know the next Avatar when the prince of the Fire Nation accidentally drenches a visiting dignitary by upturning an entire fountain's worth of water on her.or, bokuto and akaashi growing up through the years.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 12
Kudos: 182





	Pine, Pining

**Author's Note:**

> me: ah yes, an avatar AU, it'll only be 5K max  
> also me: -writes over 21K-
> 
> lots of creative liberties have been used for this fic

> _prologue_

The world came to know the next Avatar when the prince of the Fire Nation accidentally drenches a visiting dignitary by upturning an entire fountain's worth of water on her.

> _air_

Bokuto follows his father's footsteps as they approach the royal palace. They'd docked an hour ago and was escorted up the pier where a bespectacled man wearing dark red robes bowed and gestured to a carriage with an eager dragon moose rearing to set off.

He's deaf to the conversations between the adults, staring at the tall, but cool hallways of the island nation. There were windows up near the ceiling, allowing light to shine in. The ground has rugs laid through the middle that muffles their footsteps. Large tapestries cover the wall, showing rows upon rows of former Fire Lords, most of them male, several of them female.

His father clasps a hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention away from a painting of two koi fishes swimming in circles, smiling to a woman with a gold headpiece. She bends down, a lock of curly hair swishing past her shoulder. 

"A bright looking boy, he looks about my son's age," She smoothly rises up again and they resuming talking. Bokuto wanders slightly away, peeking out of the tea room they're in to the gardens next to them, watching a boy around his age swirl some pond water.

"That's my son," The woman says, appearing beside him. Bokuto startles, "Oh, my apologies for scaring you."

"I'm fine!" He looks back at the pretty lady, noting her amber eyes, "What's his name?"

"Keiji."

" _Prince_ Keiji," His father adds, "You'll address him as such of course."

The woman laughs, "That's not necessary yet, perhaps when he's older. It would be nice if they were to play together."

Bokuto goes back to outside the window, watching the stream of water morph into a sphere, refracting the sunlight. The boy stops waterbending however, when a teenage girl, cheeks flushed, runs up to him and pushes him into the pond, shouting at the top of her lungs and batting away the hands of her attendants trying to separate them.

" _It's not fair that he's the Avatar!_ " She shrills, " _It's not fair!_ "

The Fire Lady immediately dismisses them, running out into the garden. Bokuto watches on, horrified, as the boy raises up his arms to block his face, the sphere of water wobbling and turning into shards of ice that slice into the girl's cheeks.

She lets out a cry and is immediately picked up by a female guard, trashing as her tears mixes with the red rivulets running down her face, "Why does he get to be the Avatar?!" She sobs.

Bokuto watches as the little boy wipes his tears away, sitting up in the pond, not doing anything but duck his head as the girls continues to wail until the Fire Lady shoots out into the courtyard. He places a hand on the window sill, his father's hand warm on his shoulder.

"They're fighting?"

"It seems so," His dad says, in a quiet voice.

"Dad dad dad," Bokuto flops over his dad's slumbering form in the guest apartments of the palace, the morning heat already feeling unbearable even though the skies are still dark, "Why do we have to come here? Why can't the Avatar come to _us_? It's too hot."

His dad squirms away.

Bokuto launches himself on top of him, earning a well earned huff of pain when his dad sticks his head out of the covers, "The Avatar is still a prince who has duties, special circumstances must be made for him. Now please, you're not a firebender are you? Go back to sleep, it's not even six yet."

Bokuto stomps his foot and shuffles to their bathroom, peering out of the small window by standing on the window sill and watching the sun rise above the caldera. There are ships sailing out of the pier where they were yesterday, as well as tiny figures on the castle grounds.

He eventually fall asleep in the bathtub below the bathroom, thinking of the small boy with dark hair and even smaller hands than him and how he sat in the pond, defeated, until his mother waded into the pond herself and picked him up.

He finds it easier to breathe at night when the temperatures have lulled. His father spends his days training with the young prince in the small garden beside the tea room he first visited, both of them sitting in the shade of a large tree with the pond nearby, breathing in and out slowly. Bokuto steers clear of the princess whenever he sees her in the halls, though she pays him no mind, instead stomping around the palace foully.

At night, they explore town, eat vegetables and marinated tofu on sticks, go see plays and musicians in the town square and visit the many tea and dessert shops lining the streets. There are museums dedicated to ancient pottery found in the off skirts of the capitol and scrolls upon scrolls of stories from the palace's personal library that were loaned by the pretty lady.

It is a cooler morning when she sees him watching his dad and the Prince breathe in and out for what must be the hundredth time, focusing on making the leaf they're holding float in a continuous circle above their palms.

"May I interest your son to join our children during their tutoring sessions?"

His dad balks, the three of them sitting in her private apartments for some afternoon tea as the adults are talking and Bokuto focuses on the food. The fried octopus balls with generous sprinkles of fire flakes goes down the wrong hole and Bokuto spends two seconds choking before his dad clears his throat with a wave of his hand.

"I— That's too generous of you, Lady Eiko, but we cannot—"

"I insist."

His dad looks pained, "It's too much."

"Your son could join my children in world studies. And I believe Master Ma is sitting around waiting for my eldest to receive inspiration to pick up martial arts again, though at this rate I worry he might turn into a fossil before she actually does. If Bokuto-kun wants to," She turns to briefly smile at him, "I will take him to the East Wing myself and introduce him."

"I want to!" He raises his hand up, thinking of how he won't melt during the day time out of boredom and become one with the lacquered wooden frame of the tea room windows.

The tall, intimidating man in front of him had been silent since Lady Eiko floated out of the training compound, leaving them together.

"What's your name?" The man finally huffs. There's a long scar on his cheek, dragging one side of his mouth into an eternal twisted frown.

"Bokuto!"

"Ain't that your pop's name?"

He blinks owlish at him, "That is."

"What about a name of your own? You look Fire Nation."

"I have none," He simply says, wondering what the man meant. Do people have more than one names usually? "And what do you mean I look Fire Nation?"

The man studies him for another long second, finally blinking his dark eyes. He claps and beckons Bokuto to follow him out of the building to a large wooden structure with weapons inside. Bokuto's eyes goes round, watching golden dust motes float in the air, sunbeams entering from the gaps of the panel and making every single sword and armor glimmer.

Ma hands him a wooden stick the length of his forearm, "Let's start you off easy with the five basic katas."

Autumn arrives in a flurry of ships docking by the pier offering goods from the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes. The palace guards help carry large bolts of cloth, delicate bone needles and whale bone combs. There are also barrels loaded off that immediately attract every single dog panting around the pier, the sailors pushing their snouts away.

The Avatar has grown from making a leaf float to making many objects float at once. Bokuto watches his dad and the Avatar dance around the airbending gates that had been set up in the courtyard.

Bokuto joins the two siblings for their tutoring lessons from time to time, though he was pulled to the side by one of the many tutors at first because he couldn't write. It was fine though, tutoring lessons always felt so tense with the siblings that he'd rather spend time with someone else.

"Aha," Ma gleefully smirks. Bokuto lowers his wooden sword from where he'd been pointing it at Ma, drenched in sweat to see the princess walk towards them, a guard following ten meters behind. "What can I do for the Princess today?"

Princess Keiko, who stalks the hallways with muted anger and pretends her brother solely for her to shove him, has a tendency to pretend that she's not the Crown Princess. Several times, Bokuto saw her figure sneak back into the palace wearing commoner's clothing. This results in many stifled, yet loud shouting matches in the throne room every week and the Fire Lord finally appointing a personal guard to her.

Bokuto has never seen her around here before. She was always sleeping in trees around this time of the day, gnawing on a peach and ignoring her attendants trying to coax her to resume afternoon lessons. The last scar from the ice shards have disappeared.

The princess glowers at him though she fixes a smile on her face, "I'm ready to return to my swordsmanship training."

"As you shall," Ma delicately replies, bowing his head to her. He turns to Bokuto, "Perhaps the Prince," He says loudly, "Will help me?"

The Avatar quietly steps forward. Bokuto blinks at him, surprised that he hasn't seen him hide behind the tree closest to them, "What do you want me to help you with?"

"How long have you been hiding like a rat, Keiji?" The princess scoffs.

Ma ignores her jibe, "Practice katas with him. You're out of practice too, with all that airbending and firebending training you have."

The Avatar tilts his head down and leads Bokuto to the other half of the training compound, spinning around and standing straight with the same robes his older sister is wearing, a simple red set with darker red trimmings. Where as her headpiece is holding her bun from slipping off, the prince, Bokuto notes, is crown-less. In fact, he's never seen the prince with any sort of crown on his head.

"What forms have you been practicing?"

"Just the first five," Bokuto looks to the other side and sees Princess Keiko swing two swords clumsily in her hand, swishing it around her body as she fluidly flows through a complex series of steps. He adds hastily, "I mean, just the first five, Prince Keiji."

The Prince looks down at his feet, mumbling, "Please don't call me that."

A clang of metal. Princess Keiko has dropped her swords as Ma twists it out of her hands with his wooden stick.

"Should I call you 'the Avatar?'"

"No, just call me Keiji," The Prince looks up. This is the first time Bokuto has taken a good look at him. He has dark eyes, hair, a pretty nose and a too serious expression, "Mother tells me we're the same age."

"I think I'm turning seven this year."

"'Think?'"

Bokuto tries to imitate the complex twirling motion Princess Keiko had done earlier, looking away from the Prince's dark eyes, "Dad didn't know exactly how old I was when he found me."

"I see," The Prince hums, "Why don't you start from the first form? And go slow."

Bokuto starts attending lessons again though his writing is still sloppy at best, nothing like the quick strokes of the Prince or the Princess' calligraphy-esque writing. The two of them spend their time in the training compound chasing each other with wooden swords and making up games, like who can leap across the pond furthest, to pass time and steer clear of the Princess.

"Where does your sister go after world studies?" Bokuto says one day when they're exploring the guest wing of the castle for visiting families and foreign dignitaries. It was the one lesson that she attended without fuss, sitting quietly in her seat as her guard pretends to blend in with the walls.

Keiji had finished telling Bokuto about the dragon tapestry welcoming them at the front of the West Wing, concluding the tour, "She has other lessons. Once a week she joins Father when he has a meeting with the ministers."

"And you don't join her?"

"Not until I'm much older," The Prince shrugs, "I think they're considering it after New Year."

Bokuto looks down at his feet sadly, wondering if he'll still be in the castle by then or if he'll have to go back to taking naps in the tea room and being bored out of his mind.

"Your sister is going to be the next Fire Lord then?"

"The heir apparent," Keiji states like the sky is blue. Blue is the prince's favorite color. It surprised Bokuto when he heard it, thinking that he would pick something like red or orange.

"You two don't get along," Not like the way Bokuto and his airbending brothers are back in the temple. The princess doesn't interact with her younger brother unless it's to push him around, and whenever she does that, Keiji never fights her, always looking so miserable when he picks himself back up.

Keiji looks down at the floor, "We used to," He goes to a corner of the room and slumps down on the floor, picking at a loose strand of his red robes.

"How come?"

"Since birth, she hated everything that had to do with being the heir. We got along fine until I dumped water on that Earth Kingdom lady. Now she can't abdicate to me because there will be a conflict of interest if the next Fire Lord is also the Avatar," A shrug, "That's why she hates me."

"That's terrible," Bokuto watches Keiji blink furiously. He immediately regrets asking, "Please don't cry."

"I know, I know crying is useless and won't solve problems but I just want my sister back," He huffs, quickly wiping his eyes, "She was always planning on giving me the throne and now I ruined everything."

"But did you even want the throne in the first place?"

The prince shrugs, "If it would make her life less miserable I'd take it."

Bokuto doesn't know politics at all, he doesn't know the repercussions of being the leader of a nation but he knows what loneliness is, so he shuffles next to Keiji, pressing their arms together in what he hopes is a comforting gesture.

He finds the reason why Keiji refuses to wear any crown of some sort even though his entire family proudly display theirs.

"I hate firebending," He tells Bokuto one night, having snuck into the kitchen for extra desserts as they sat on the cool stone floors. He hugs his knees to his chest, shaggy wavy hair hanging over his forehead. It was the shortest length he was allowed to have, enough for his attendants to stick a headpiece through. "I'm pretty bad at it too, considering that I have a firebending master."

Then, "Mother is worried that I'm not going to be a powerful Avatar and I'll disrupt the balance of the Four Nations. No one would listen to me if I get beaten in every practice match," He kicks out a leg, "She tells me I have to be more like Keiko."

"You just need practice," Bokuto looks down at his hands, picking at the blisters and rubbing them together. Sometimes the siblings would spar with their firebending master in the courtyard. The Princess's firebending is always aggressive and borders on overwhelming, like her excess anger is too much to keep inside, "You're a good airbender from what my dad says." 

"I'm fine with airbending but I know I'll have trouble with earthbending when that time comes around. Keiko always said that she sucked all the firebending powers from me."

"Obviously you can't be Princess Keiko because you're not the Princess! You have ages to improve on your training anyway. And as dad say, you can only do things one at a time."

"I suppose that's true."

"It _is_ true."

"What about you? Your head isn't shaved like your father's," It was suppose to be an offhanded comment, Bokuto is sure, because Keiji has been nothing but nice to him, running around the palace to Bokuto's fancy and reciting every fact he knows about the artifacts and paintings in the hallways, but it hurts.

"'M not a bender," Bokuto says, sulking.

"I'm sorry for asking," The prince quickly says. "I didn't know."

"It's okay," Bokuto says, looking at his shoes. They're quite scuffed up, "Do you know what a custard tart is?"

"No?"

"Let's find Dad," Bokuto says, tugging him up. The prince looks miserable again, like he's chastising himself for always messing things up, "It's a dessert from the Earth Kingdom! It's really good and yummy!"

New Year is a big, celebratory event that lasts the entire day. In the morning, Bokuto spends time with his dad in a small temple dedicated to Avatar Yangchen, meditating and placing offerings of mandarin on the dais as his eyes water from the incense. In the afternoon, the palace walls were open to the public and the royal siblings put on a show, walking through several complex bending forms in black armor.

Afterward the last guest has been shown out, Princess Keiko roughly shoulders her brother out of her way when Bokuto loses his temper and snaps at her, telling her off for being so mean.

The guards blink at them, not knowing what to do. The princess stares at him, shocked. The surprise reflects on his own face as he clasps a hand to his mouth in horror.

"Keiko!" Lady Eiko orders, approaching them from where she and Fire Lord Yozei had been sitting on a raised dais, the guards immediately turning their attention back to the walls, "Enough is _enough!_ Follow me."

The princess suddenly looks smaller than she is, tripping over her feet and following her mother as they disappear into the shadows. Bokuto stands frozen as the Fire Lord nears and passes him, following the two into the palace.

"Are you okay?" He mumbles when Keiji is at his side.

"'M'fine," Keiji mumbles as Bokuto's father looms over them.

"Bokuto, we do not yell at the royal family," Fury is etched on every line of his face as he chastises them. Bokuto secretly thinks he has very poor temper, being a monk and all, "Apologize the next time you see the princess!"

"Sir," Keiji turns to his airbending master, stepping slightly in front of Bokuto, "He stood up for what is right."

Monk Bokuto glowers down at the both of them, "There is a time and place for everything, Prince Keiji. Yelling at the princess in public belongs to neither, nor is my son in the position to tell her what to do or what not to do."

Both of them sulk as they're shepherded into the palace for a light lunch before going back down to the city to join the town in festivities.

The next time the princess sees them, they're all bunched into the same carriage as they ride into town, Lady Eiko rounding off their odd number. She hums lightly and gazes outside as Bokuto and Keiji exchange looks between themselves.

Princess Keiko's eyes are slightly puffy, "Kei-chan."

Keiji stiffens, "Yes?"

"...I'm sorry for acting out against you when you've done nothing wrong. I've been very immature the past year and you deserve an apology. I know you cannot control being the Avatar."

Keiji nods uncomfortably, "Okay. Thanks."

Princess Keiko sniffs, looking out the other window and wiping a tear off her cheeks. Bokuto gives Keiji a side glance again, finding the prince shrug at him slightly. 

Bokuto thinks he looks quite handsome once his attendants have pulled all of his hair into a bun, his crown showing, but the thought is fleeing.

"You're gripping it wrong," A voice quietly says. Bokuto turns to see the princess hover outside the weapons shed, peering inside as Bokuto practices his aim with a bow and arrow.

She grabs a matching bow off the wall, notching a dull arrow, one amber eye closed, "Father's close friend is a Yu Yan archer. You should be using a more flexible bow until you have enough strength to pull a stiffer wood entirely."

She punctuates her talk with a perfect bull's eye, allowing the arrow to rotate around her dominant hand as she leans her weight onto one foot, hand on one hip.

"We haven't talked much, have we?"

"Um, no, your highness."

"Thank you for being a good friend to my brother when I couldn't be a friend to him," She plays with the string of the bow, testing the tension with one finger. Bokuto saw a smudge of ink on her hand, "He talks fondly of you."

"You both are talking again?" He adds hastily, "Your highness."

She nods, darting her eyes left and right as her mouth twists uncomfortably, "Here and there. Not like we once used to before...everything, but I realized how terrible I had been treating him for the half year," She takes a deep inhale from her nose, setting the arrow down and pulling her crown off.

She holds it out to him to look, "Keiji told me you know how much I hate this thing."

It was a two pronged crown, complete with a golden pin that would anchor it in place. Bokuto remembers reading scrolls about it from the royal library, "You wanted to abdicate."

"I was so angry that he was the Avatar," She whispers, pin quiet in the shed, the back of the building filled with hay to prevent any wayward arrows from piercing the back wall. A stream of weak sunlight shines through the gaps in the wooden panels, "I had all of this planned when Keiji started to crawl. He would be the Fire Lord and I would be the spare. I never liked having responsibilities on my shoulders, it was always what each action would say about the royal family, if we do this what are the consequences?"

She blinks, "Not that I'm making excuses. Keiji is too kind to tell you about my bad side, but I thought you should understand. I regret being terrible."

Bokuto wonders why she's talking to him as if they're on equal grounds, his dad's words echoing, "Why are you telling me this? I'm...just visiting."

"You're his dearest friend," She returns the bow to its place, heading for the door and turning her head back, "I think he might have found a lifelong friend in you, if you choose to accept it."

Then she makes the symbol for fire with her fists and tilts her head slightly in his direction, leaving him to ponder her words.

One season cycle passes.

And then another, and another, until he realizes they've been in the Fire Nation for seven years. He can barely remember what the Southern Air Temples looked like now. He only knows of the Fire Nation, of the temperate winters, humid summers, typhoon season and various wildlife found around the island.

"Hey Bo," Keiko grins, standing at the front of the tea room, striding in and watching him watch his dad and Keiji do their morning meditation. 

"Hey," Bokuto grins at her, "Happy twenty-second."

"Happy fourteenth to you," She gives him a traditional Fire Nation bow, before pulling a boxed package from her back, "A present for you."

Bokuto gasps, "You didn't have to!" She hums quietly as he tries to unknot the cloth tying the box together, noting the blue color and fish design threaded through it, "No way. Throwing daggers?"

"Made by one of the finest steel and ore found on Fire Nation soil and tempered personally by me. And there are forearm armors below," She gives him an uncertain smile, "I know your dad is against it but...I thought once you two leave the capital that you should keep up the skills Master Ma taught you. It's a good thing to know how to defend yourself."

He hides his discomfort at that and throws her a winning smile, promising to bring her present later when the palace throws a celebration dinner. She waves goodbye to him, running off to a meeting with her parents and some merchants.

Bokuto spent seven years here living in the palace. The Prince will be finishing his last airbending exam today and his waterbending master will arrive by boat one week later.

"What's wrong?" Keiji asks, as they're walking around the roofed engawa of the inner gardens, feeling the October breeze in their face. His sister is delightfully drunk from dessert wine and is dancing with her circle of friends. Both of them had snuck out for some fresh air. 

"You're a properly trained airbender now," Bokuto has been avoiding his dad all day long, "I guess we're leaving soon and all."

Keiji is quiet, "I told your dad that you could stay. My family is more than happy to allow you your own apartments here."

"Is that even proper?"

Keiji looks pained, "...No, but you're my first friend that's not the sons or daughters of the nobility trying to befriend me because I'm the prince."

Bokuto hates being small, wishing that he's older enough to make his own decisions, "I would definitely stay if I could."

Keiji is quiet, both of them staring out into the pond as rain starts to sprinkle down. Bokuto holds lots of memories with the pond, remembering the small boy who made spheres, his older sister pushing him down into it, remembering the Fire Lady coo at the new generation of turtle ducks the first spring Bokuto celebrated with the royal family, of the many times he and Keiji made up games around the pond to avoid his sister.

"Do you remember what my dad said when we found out I was the Avatar?"

"That you could be a protagonist right? Keiko had yelled at you earlier in the day."

"Yes, but sometimes I wish I wasn't a prince so I can escape my duties," He shuffles closer, pressing his arm to Bokuto's side, "Keiko heard that and said if my life was the lead role that it would be a tragedy."

Bokuto tries to placate him, "The princess was just angry."

Keiji leans forward, gripping the rails of the engawa and looking up into the rain, "She's right though. The entire royal family is just a story of a tragedy. We have no freedom."

Bokuto breaks protocol and reaches forward to put his hand on top of Keiji's, feeling the cool skin. Keiji turns to him, eyes bright in the semi darkness where the lantern light doesn't reach them.

"When I reach of age I'll come back here," He squeezes his hand, "I promise."

Keiji swallows, "Really?"

"I promise," He firmly says, realizing that he'd overtaken Keiji in height. The prince looks up at him, mouth parted open when his lips curls into a small, hopeful smile.

"I'll take your word for it."

Bokuto and his father leaves the next day to return to the Southern Air Temple. The goodbye at the docks is painful, Keiji trying to convince his father for one last time if they would consider staying as an in-house airbending master.

Lady Eiko shakes her head, hands hidden in her sleeves. The royal family's headpiece glitters in the sunlight, the occasion of them leaving apparently serious enough for the servants to manhandle Keiji's hair into a bun for his headpiece to hold, "They have homes to return to, dear."

His dad claps Keiji's still thin shoulders, smiling down at him, "Your waterbending master will come by in a few days and you'll be too busy to even think about us."

Keiji looks down at his feet, looking like a child playing dress up with his polished black and gold detailed armor over his dark robes, a spitting image of the Fire Lord, "Okay."

His dad steps back and the two boys look at each other, trying to pretend the curious fisherman inhaling thin noodles by the docks aren't watching them.

Keiji pulls out something from his pocket, handing over a small book, "It's my favorite set of Fire Nation poems to remind you of this place."

Bokuto's eyes stings, "I'll come back with Dad. I promised, remember?"

The Fire Lord, Lady and Keiko turn their attention to a couple dogs looking for pats, allowing Keiji to forego royal protocol and crush Bokuto in a hug.

"I'll see you in a few years."

"Yes, I'll send my hawk to you for letters," Keiji says thickly. Bokuto leans back and sniffs. The ship that will be taking them and some goods towards the Earth Kingdom and Southern Air Temple land blows its horn. 

His dad starts to walk backwards to the plank, bowing deeply for the royal family, Keiko looking at the sky and blinking furiously.

Bokuto runs to the edge of the ship, leaning over the rails to watch Keiji as the pier starts to diminish in size. His dad stands next to him, quiet, as sailors yell the status of the waves and adjust their route.

Above, the sun continues to shine. Bokuto stands on deck until the Fire Nation disappears off the coastline.

> water

He stares across the courtyard, watching his dad surrounded by friends, blue matching arrows from everyone that's around him. It was embarrassing to arrive at the temple via air bison when everyone used their gliders like second nature.

At night, he sleeps with his brothers, dreaming of terribly humid summers and juicy fruits. Seven years, it turns out, is a long time to be away from home. Nearly all his childhood friends only gave him lukewarm smiles when he returned, saying how different he is. Even his closest friend felt so far away when Bokuto spent the afternoon reuniting with Konoha, who commented on how long his hair had gotten.

Winter is deathly cold. Snow falls, coating the tiled courtyard with slush that sticks to their clothing. Bokuto feels the cold most out of all of them, though his dad had given him furs by trading with the Southern Water Tribe. He thinks now would be a good time to discover his firebending powers, breath of fire and all, if he was a bender.

He stops trimming his hair in an attempt to retain some heat. His dad pities him and knits an itchy hat from bison fur but it does the trick somewhat.

Keiji's first letter comes, the messenger hawk clearly not a big fan of the cold by the way it burrows its way under Bokuto's red and orange robes for warmth. Bokuto eagerly finishes his chores, finding a quiet corner in the library to sit in and stoking the fire from the stone fireplace before opening the envelope.

_Bokuto-san,_

_My waterbending teacher brought his oldest son with him. It snows constantly in the North, from what they said, even in the summer. The son's name is Tobio, he's younger than us, but left after two weeks on the trade ship going back North. I quite enjoy waterbending so far. I thought it would be harder because it's fire's polar opposite._

_My parents are doing well. Keiko is currently being courted by fifteen different men who think they can best her in a fight. I don't think they'll last; Keiko would rather spend her free days going into the city with her friends and drinking tea anyway, but the Fire Sages have been pressing her to at least pick someone to court soon. I'm glad they call me the spare._

_I hope it's not too cold where you are. I can send a ship to you if you do need some robes— we have a very good trade deal with the Southern Water Tribe, and I know the airbenders wear some lighter shades of red. The Fire Nation specializes in red._

_Yours,  
_ _Prince Keiji_

Bokuto scrounges for a sheaf of paper and ink, sitting by the windows and scrawling his reply as fast as possible. The hawk is still shivering. Bokuto pulls out a clementine out of his pocket, slightly bruised, and hands it to the hawk, who looks at it curiously before devouring the flesh.

_Dear Prince Keiji,_

_Dad gave me some robes. Do you think you can handle the snow when you're travelling around the world in the next few years?_

_Dad doesn't do well in the cold because his joints are stiffer_ _. Life is okay here. Slow, but doable. I'm in charge of the bisons. Every week we go into a small town and sell our custard tarts, cheese and fruits. Since it's the winter now, we only focus on the orange trees we have in the grove. It's a shame, really, I quite liked being in charge of making tarts. At least I could feel the fire's warmth from the oven._

_I miss the Fire Nation, the docks, the markets, the humidity (surprising I know), the beach, the sea, the fruits, Keiko's bending practices. Ariwara no Yukihira explains it best:_

_Though I leave/ for Inaba and the pines/ that grow upon its peak/ should I hear that you are pining/ I will soon be back again._

_Stay warm,  
_ _Bokuto_

He drinks warm bison milk on cold mornings, muscle stiff as he mucks the stalls, watching his fellow brothers practice air bending and meditating. Konoha catches him staring one morning, waving from the courtyard across the abyss that he can't get to without a bison. Bokuto gives them a smile, separated by a gorge.

The elder Monk Yasufumi approaches him one day, so stooped his back bends nearly ninety degrees as his staff clunks with every step he takes.

"I sense a disturbance in your heart, young Bokuto."

"Oh," Their breaths come out as white clouds. He straightens and scratches his neck, watching Monk Yasufumi blink peacefully at him. "I'm sorry?"

The elder turns his head around and gazes out at the other end of the stables, where the earth leads to an empty courtyard and perilous cliffs, the surrounding mountains and pines covered in white. Several adult airbisons are lazily hovering, trying to find a cliff face large enough to hold them so they can sunbathe.

"Do you long to fly freely among the clouds?"

Bokuto frowns at his feet, "Is it wrong of me to feel that?"

"Every emotion you have is valid, it is normal to seek out communities to feel where you belong," Monk Yasufumi sighs slowly, "Monk Bokuto told me briefly how you wanted to stay in the Fire Nation, I think once the leaves start falling next year, we can look to arrange a stay with them for a season."

"Really?" Hope grows in Bokuto's chest.

Monk Yasufumi only starts humming, shuffling away, "Of course, young Bokuto. Why not?"

Bokuto grins at the back of his robes, wishing that Keiji's messenger hawk could return so he could add this to his letter.

He spends the rest of the months before his trip exchanging letters with Keiji (the letters are also accompanied by little parcels light enough to be carried by the hawk— of teas, dried fruits and nuts, and exactly one dagger from Keiko) and fine tuning his business acumen. There were some rare herbs that only grew on the peaks of the cliffs surrounding the temple, and he hopped onto the back of a year old air bison calf whose name is Rima, picking them carefully and trading them to the herbalist and small apothecary in town for coins.

Konoha joins him every time he goes herb-hunting. Bokuto spins tales of his seven years in the Fire Nation, of the humid heat, of the numerous fruits that grow on the island, the different smoked vegetables charred on a grill, the little snacks served on porcelain plates and what the palace looked like.

"You seem happier there."

"Do I?" He tries tugging his arm out of Rima's mouth. It's her one bad habit that he hasn't manage to break ever since he's corralled the babies away from their mother. She continues to nibble his arm.

Konoha passes him a packet of leaves, some twine around his wrist, "You do," He rubs Rima's head, "Sometimes I feel sorry for you for being an outsider. It must be hard, so we're all glad that you found a place where you felt like you belong."

He swallows, touched. Konoha catches his moony look and tells him to stop it, turning beet red, "W-Whatever, just don't forget about us completely."

"I'll ship you guys fire flakes," Bokuto says, tear eyed, though it may be because Rima is trying to gnawing off his elbow now. He tries to pry open her jaw. "And all the mangoes on the island. And limes. I think you'd make a good lime pie."

"Lime? What's a lime?" Konoha asks. Bokuto smiles, yanking his arm out when Konoha waves a piece of persimmon in front of Rima as bait.

"Limes are these sour fruits, they're green on the outside. The peel can be soaked in sugar to make a syrup..."

His dad passes away the night before he is to board the Fire Nation trades ship.

It's an odd sensation, to feel like he's free-falling when both of his feet are on solid ground. It was a while until he could hear words again, and then there are many hands guiding him to sit down, a cup of tea warming his hands. His dad been found resting in his bed, sleeping peacefully from what they knew.

He sits in the inner circle of elders, stoking the fire and staying vigil as dawn breaks. They are all still wide awake, the silence only broken when they each stretch in the night to warm their limbs or grab more tea.

Konoha looks up when he shuffles out of the courtyard, stopping him, "Bokuto—"

"I'll only be away for a few hours to deliver this letter to the ship," He promises, "I'll come back."

Konoha drops his hand, letting him walk away.

The tradesmen and the one guard sent by the royal siblings promises to get his letter to the prince safely. Bokuto watches the ship sail away, becoming smaller and smaller in the horizon as he holds a sack of unripe mangoes, a goodwill present from the Fire Lord to be given to his brothers.

Rima licks his face when he comes back to where he left her at the side of the pier. He burrows his face into her soft fur, voice thick, "Home, Rima."

She lets out a cry and leaps into the air.

They scatter petals into the cliffs, letting the wind dance around their hands. Half of them are preparing for the feast later tonight, held in honor of Monk Bokuto. He doesn't remember making the food at all, but he recognizes his sloppy chopping as everyone spoons some food onto his bowl when the sun sets.

Apparently his dad had minor pre-existing heart problems from birth from what Monk Yasufumi said to him, away from the laughter as the circle shared their favorite memory of Monk Bokuto. They're currently remembering the day he went out to sell custard tarts and came back with a toddler gnawing on his necklace.

"You will see him again one day," Monk Yasufumi says, patting his hand gently.

Bokuto nods robotically, staring at a custard tart the elder had given to him and thinking of the time they took over the palace's kitchens with his dad and the royal siblings in tow, recreating it for the entire staff. Keiko had just made up with Keiji then.

"Thank you," He replies roughly.

Two and a half weeks later, Bokuto walks out of the stables sweaty and smelling like bison to see Keiji and Lady Eiko sitting around a paisho board, tea in hand and wearing dark colored traveling cloaks above their robes.

Keiji immediately stands, cutting off Monk Yasufumi's reprise as he sings about plum blossoms blooming while juggling said plums with a hand. He stares at Bokuto, mouth parted open, wind dancing around his bangs.

Bokuto dazedly blinks back; he really grew into looking like a prince. He'd shot up like a sapling over the year they've been apart, overtaking his mother. He can see traces of the Fire Lord's cheekbones on Keiji's face, the childish roundness disappearing. Asides from his height and cheeks, he looks the same, a slim and quiet shadow.

"Bokuto, how you've grown," Lady Eiko immediately fills in the awkward silence that descends. Her skin is more lined though her eyes are as bright as ever. She steps forward and Bokuto fumbles into a weird bow, remembering who she is and the manner classes he sat through for seven years.

"Lady Eiko, you look beautiful as always! Welcome to the Southern Air Temples!"

"You're much more charming than my own son," She pretends to swoon. Monk Yasufumi roars with laughter. The prince of the Fire Nation rolls his eyes, stepping forward and clasping Bokuto's arm and drawing him for a hug.

Bokuto reddens, "I smell like bison, sorry."

"You're fine."

"What are you two doing here?" He looks between the mother and son, "Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything."

Monk Yasufumi raises his eyebrows at the prince, "The royal family would like to formally invite you to spend winter in the palace. You may go of course, if you choose to do so. I think one is considered an adult when you can successfully ride an air bison through a storm."

He turns to them. Lady Eiko smiles encouragingly, folding her hands neatly in front of her, "We have tutors if you're worried about missing education. And Keiji is longing for someone to spar with."

Said Keiji blushes, "Not only for sparring purposes, I enjoy your company of course."

"Of course! Of course I want to go!"

The elder smiles.

They talk about anything and everything during the ride on the backs of mongoose lizards with four guards escorting them from the bottom of the temple to the ship. The talk continues well during the brief stop they took at a small Earth Kingdom dock for some fish and rice, into the four-course dinner, dessert, after-dinner tea and after Lady Eiko had grown so tired of listening to them talk that she chose to retire early.

"Let me show you," Keiji says, sticking his hand over the railings of the ship. Bokuto watches carefully at the funnel of water rising like a snake, twisting and curling around the arm like a friendly aquatic animal. Keiji flicks his arms up, water spraying up and coming down as snowflakes.

"Wow."

"I like waterbending the most," He happily says, the smile vanishing quickly, "No offence."

Bokuto snorts, "You're fine."

They go through katas again, taking some wooden swords from the weaponry room of the decks of the luxury yacht. Keiji introduces him to the ten very highly trained guards accompanying the royal family, speaking more words that he has ever spoken during the years Bokuto spent in the Fire Nation. 

Bokuto allows him to do that anyway, listening to how Keiji's voice has deepened slightly and to the inevitable cracks when he gets too excited.

Keiji is still a fantastic air bender, often using the glider Bokuto's dad had crafted for him to follow the ship from several meters behind during their return. The guards were always nervous whenever he does this, all of them ready to jump into the ocean to save their prince if he so happens to plunge into the waters.

"I'm a strong swimmer."

"Let us worry about you on our own, Prince Keiji."

"It's fine," Keiji huffs, Bokuto silently laughing as he tries to shake off the two guards who always stand by the railings, life vests where their armor should be.

"We insist, your highness."

Keiji sighs.

Bokuto's room is next to the prince's. It's a cozy cabin, enough to fit a bed, desk and chair. His bathroom only has a toilet and sink so he has to walk to the communal showers if he wants to scrub off, but it's perfectly fine for him. They spend many late hours of the night there in the cramped room, both of them barely fitting onto the bed.

"I'm sorry to hear about your dad's passing."

Bokuto shrugs, "Apparently he already had something wrong with his heart since young. I just didn't realize that until they told me after his death."

"Often they hide things they think is burdensome because we're too young," It sounds like Keiji is trying to console him. It feels wrong somehow. Bokuto isn't bitter, he's just stating facts.

And wishing that he wasn't away so he could have done something.

"Yeah," He sighs, "Maybe you're right."

Keiji immediately went to practice the moment they stepped foot into the castle. He yells something about dinner, rushing away and sprinting through the halls with his attendants chasing after him, carrying the headpiece that slipped off his hair and his traveling cloak.

"Look who's back!" Keiko greets, hugging Bokuto and releasing him as servants around them hurry and clear the entrance of trunks and goods. They only stopped by three port cities on the ride back to the Fire Nation but Lady Eiko had managed to buy several things, hiding her delight with her sleeves every time she came back onto the ship with her guards holding something.

Keiko looks exactly the same, pin straight black hair pulled up into a high ponytail with the ends swishing from side to side as she pulls him into the gardens for some tea and light food. Her crown sparkles, it looks fitting on her.

She pats his hand at first, expressing her grief that Monk Bokuto passed away. Bokuto reassures her that he passed away relatively peacefully and thanks her for her hospitality and words.

"Um, Princess Kei—"

"Oh please," She rolls her eyes, "You can drop the formalities. You're basically second family at this point, call me Keiko."

"Only when we're alone," He says, "Um, Keiko, what can I do around here?"

She blinks twice, "We didn't bring you here for hired help."

"I know but," But it feels wrong to come here like it's a vacation, "But I get bored easily."

She purses her lips.

"Back here again?"

He bows, "Master Ma."

Ma has several more strands of grey in his hair. Bokuto is surprised how quickly the people of the Fire Nation seems to age in the year that he was gone, "The princess told me about your predicament. You can help me rebuild the weapons shed. Let's start by moving all of the weapons into storage today."

"I heard you officially moved into the palace."

Ma grunts, "My last son left, I figured it was time to sell the darned house and move here so I could help the prince."

He joins Keiji for world studies like they were young again, listening to Lady Mamiko lecture about the finer points of how trade deals and the ability of the Water Tribes to build ships started off the trading boom. He eats dinner with the royal family and joins them for game night every month.

Sometimes Bokuto watches Keiji waterbend in the morning from the same tea room overlooking the garden. Master Homura of the Northern Water Tribe is a tall, slender man with quick reflexes and cat-like grace. Morning bending sessions were always a treat to see, especially if Keiji was allowed to defend with firebending.

Most of the time he's tearing down the weapons shed and laying down wood foundations on the ground, the heat so unbearable in the late autumn sun he found working shirtless easier.

It slowly comes together as Ma enforces the help of his ninth son, a newly made Lieutenant of the navy who has returned from sea.

Kuroo turned out to be several years older than him at nineteen. Tall with typical Fire Nation eyes and hair, he'd been welcoming and cheerful, even teaching Bokuto how to tie the many knots the navy uses as they hoist wooden beams up and down scaffolding, relegating the tales of his time at sea.

"Oh, hi K— Prince!" Bokuto bites his tongue to save himself, jumping up from the upturned wooden crates he and Kuroo had been using as stools and giving Keiji a proper bow of someone of his status. He hopes he's not covered in wood chips.

"Hello Bokuto-san, hello cousin."

Bokuto turns to look at Kuroo still laughing, "Really?"

"Everyone is distantly related to everyone," Keiji can't seem to make eye contact with Bokuto. Bokuto takes a discreet sniff of his sweat, wondering if he smells too much like dust.

Kuroo melts into a kowtow, grandly asking, "What brings you here, my prince? What can I, a mere sailor, do for the likes of you? Shall I scrub your boots? Peel grapes for you? Rub your feet?"

"From my observations, it seems like you have a liking for feet," The prince deadpans.

"If that's how you want to interpret it, I wouldn't mind," Kuroo looks up, the acting melting off his face. He shoots Keiji a wide grin, "You're hot after all."

Keiji makes a face, looking like he's regretting the visit, "Really, Kuroo?"

"Fine, fine. What do you need?"

"I need to borrow Bokuto-san for a moment," Keiji trails off and then looks at Kuroo, sizing him up with a cool look, "And I guess one witness."

"Is Keiko-san finally going to elope with someone and force you to be the new Crown Prince?" Kuroo holds his hands up as Keiji shoots him an annoyed look, "Kidding!"

"Should we shower first?" Bokuto asks, tugging his tunic from where he'd tossed it onto the crate. He's pretty sure he has chips of wood in his hair. Kuroo doesn't look any better.

Keiji brings them to a stone courtyard being used to hold extra crates used in the kitchens, telling them not to fight him as they stand on top of grates, water sloshing beneath them.

"Um, is the water clea—" Kuroo's voice gurgles when Keiji flicks both arms up and Bokuto shuts his eyes, millions of tiny water hands scrubbing every inch of exposed skin. The water is cool. He laughs underwater when the little hands brush against his navel, and then Keiji moves the water so their heads are sticking out, introducing soap that foams against their skin.

He then dries them with a hot gust of air from his palms and starts marching them to the direction of the Fire Sages Temples, Kuroo complaining about how his hair is sticking up.

"Keiko-san!" Kuroo exclaims, looking suspiciously between the royal siblings. Bokuto looks around the Fire Sages Temple, never having step foot inside here before, "Okay, you're both wearing your fancy robes, is there something we're missing?"

Keiko shakes her head, an elderly, wrinkled monk behind her burning incense, "Just celebrating something. Bokuto, care to come up here?"

Bokuto stiffens, slowly walking up to the dais where she and the monk is standing. He stops on the step lower than them.

"Monk Yasufumi and I have been exchanging letters," Keiko starts, one hand on his shoulder, "He told me about how much you miss the Fire Nation when you went back. Before his death, Monk Bokuto and my mother have also been discussing about your formal adoption into the Fire Nation."

His eyes prickles with pain, "Dad has?"

"He had an inkling you might try to return here anyway once you're of age. The deal was that you would spend time with us and occasionally visit the Southern Air Temple every few years until then," Keiko's smile turns sad, "Unfortunately that was the last we heard from Monk Bokuto. If you still like, we can formally adopt you as a Fire Nation citizen."

Bokuto blinks to the Fire Sages standing next to her, "And that's what he's here for?"

"Ah, about that...."

"It was my idea," Keiji says behind him. Bokuto whirls around to see him at the bottom of the dais, standing next to Kuroo, "If you want, we can send you to the Spirit World for a brief moment. You'll be able to see Monk Bokuto again."

Keiji clenches his jaw, he looks oddly afraid for some reason.

He relaxes when Bokuto nods, throat too tight to speak the words.

"What's this?" Bokuto looks down at his citizen certificate, newly signed by the Fire Lord, the Fire Lord's Secretary and the Head of the Office of Adoptions and Citizenship. "What's a Koutarou?"

They're sitting on the engawa, Keiji still flushed from the end of his training as the sun sets, "Most citizens here have a last and first name. The last name is the same for every member of the family, but the first name is personal name for that individual."

"The royal family doesn't have a last name I guess then?"

"No, just our first names," Keiji sits up, tapping on the three characters of _Koutarou_ , "It means son of light, or shining son. I helped Monk Bokuto choose it.... I'm sorry for hiding that from you, I was also exchanging letters with him."

"It's okay," Bokuto knows etiquette prevents him from casually touching the future prince and Avatar, so he cradles his certificate to his chest, "Thank you for this really."

"No problem," Keiji flashes a rare toothy grin, "But share the recipe for the custard tart with the kitchens, won't you? Our head chef has been trying to recreate them for the past two years with no success."

Bokuto laughs.

> earth 

Keiji manages to master waterbending in an impressive span of three years. Lady Eiko grants permission for the both of them to travel back to the Southern Air Temples together for one week before Keiji's earthbending teacher is set to arrive. Bokuto as promised, brings sacks of fruits and fire flakes for Konoha and the rest of his brothers.

Bokuto is happy, delighted that Keiji has another element down in his belt, but there's an uncanny worry inside of him of what will happen to them when Keiji finishes mastering earth and becomes a fully realized Avatar. Would he be able to travel with him?

The current him right now would only hold Keiji back. He has to outshine the Avatar in one skill in an effort to stand out.

Even with guards following their every movement, Keiji laughs harder and acts more childish outside the palace walls, surfing next to the ship as he stands on a wave of water, every single guard trying to persuade him to please come back onto the deck where they can guard him properly. He and Bokuto play harmless pranks on them, like swapping the salt and sugar pots when they have Music Night together.

The prince first gets drunk when Bokuto unknowingly poured him some dessert wine from what he thought was a blend of fruit juices. The guards were not impressed and had a hard time separating the prince's long arms from Bokuto, where he's passed out.

So it all falls onto the Captain to watch over both of them while the rest of the guards went back to their posts.

Captain Ukai is always wearing gloves even if it's in the height of the summer. When Bokuto asks why, trying to fight against Keiji's strong grip to wrestle the cup away from him, Ukai peels off the gloves and shows off the burns on his palms.

"Don't squeeze citrus outside in the sun, it'll give ya nasty burns," He huffs, chewing on a stick of jerky like he wants a pipe. He rests his head on his hand after he tugs his gloves back, "The oranges and limes on the island all belong to my family's farm. Must say that we're mighty grateful to you."

"For making the prince drunk?"

Ukai shoots him a look, " _No_ , for being a good friend to the prince. There's a reason why he only has one other friend growing up, and it's Master Ma's son, Kuroo. Every bleeding son or daughter of the nobility only like him for his status."

"Isn't that also bad? If he only has one other friend to rely on?"

"If he was the Crown Prince, then yeah, it is," Ukai grabs one more jerky from a plate, "But thankfully he'll be too busy traveling around the world and all to stay in the Fire Nation like Princess Keiko has to."

Bokuto looks sadly at how the shadows from the candles dance, "The poor princess."

"She's a toughie," Ukai pours a cup of dessert wine for him, saying that he'll look in the other direction if Bokuto doesn't get too drunk, "But we're all proud. She's finally embracing her birthright."

"I just have an idea! Keiko, you like sweets right? Can you make a small flame for me from one finger?"

"Like this?"

"...."

"Okaaaaay and stop! I present to you...an Air Nomad custard tart with caramelized sugar crust!"

Every winter, the Fire Nation hosts a delegation from every nation, inviting the minister of trade and wealthy merchants to apparently, chat the current state of affairs for an entire week. It was on this certain trip that Keiji found out he was the Avatar some odd ten years ago.

"No way in hell would they survive if the trades deal was held in the Poles," Kuroo says as they both sit under a tree, chewing a plate of mochi handed out by one of the attendants as Lady Eiko's favorite courtyard is turned into a garden party. "Winter in the Fire Nation makes sense. The temperature is still nice, but not murderous like our summers."

"I didn't know the Navy was allowed in here," Bokuto comments, watching every single guest first bow to Keiji, then Keiko, then Lady Eiko and then Fire Lord Yozei. Keiji's attendants had once again wrestle his hair into a bun, his crown shining in the sun. From the strained smile on both siblings, they're already fed up with the handshaking and endless politeness.

"They're not, I snuck in."

"Only with _my_ help," Ma grumbles, looking down at the two of them relaxing on chairs. He hands them a plate of cut fruits from the buffet table. Bokuto gives him an impish smile, "Ten gold pieces on Princess Keiko burning off the stupid looking paper flowers that sappish Earth Kingdom boy has."

Bokuto snickers as Keiko exactly does that, leaning in close and crushing the hand of Lord Fei's son as she drones about how trade parties are not the appropriate place for courting.

Kuroo, without a beat, laughs, "Ten gold pieces on the daughter of Lady Hiroko of the Southern Water Tribe that she'll pretend to trip and fall into the Prince's arms."

Bokuto's smile disappears as a petite girl with long white hair twisted and clipped with a deep purple rock does exactly that. Kuroo and Ma bump fists as he feels like he wants to torch something right now.

"How old is the Prince this year?" Ma goes on, oblivious to Bokuto's aneurysm. 

"Eighteen coming the new year."

"Two more years until he's a man," Ma sighs, "I remember when you became of age, Kuroo."

"Aw pops, are you getting teary eyed?"

"Go away and get me some skewers," Ma growls. He happens to turn to Bokuto, who has calmly collected his features and is staring at Lady Hiroko's daughter, hoping that Keiko's volatile teenager years return to her and she gets shouldered into a pond, "Bokuto...are you pouting?"

"No," He grumbles.

Lady Eiko, for some reason, has sought him out to accompany her shopping for Keiko's upcoming birthday.

"But it just passed," Bokuto babbles, being dragged away by his sleeve as he helplessly looks at the shiny new row of blades Ma has finished making. He could technically overpower the Lady, but with her three guards following them, it would be bad taste.

"Hush, Bokuto," Lady Eiko giggles as they ride into town, "Just follow me."

Bokuto is at a loss, but he's glad that he wore his new robes that hasn't faded from vigorous washing over the time. Ma pays him well when the new weapons shed was built, and he regularly gets wages when the chefs seeks him out for help whenever the royal family needs catering services.

The carriage stops them in one of the back alleys and Lady Eiko shuffles out, putting the hood of her simple cloak up, though the shape of her crown poking through makes it very obvious that she's not who she tries to be.

They begin sneaking towards the middle of the market before Lady Eiko claps her hands and urges Bokuto to peek out of several bolts of fabric sold at a shop, several onlookers giving them weird looks.

Bokuto gapes.

It's Keiko (wearing a short, brown wig) and a man, sitting at a tea shop, laughing and holding hands with a pot of jasmine between them, steaming.

"Oh this day has finally arrived," Lady Eiko sniffs, Lan or Ran appearing next to her and giving her a handkerchief before disappearing again. "I never thought my bratty daughter would be interested in dating."

"Do you know who he is?"

"I think he's the youngest Captain of the Navy? I will have to check the portraits when Yozei is with me— he's particularly good with faces, not much so with names. Oh this is so exciting, after her will be Keiji! I hope my skin is still supple when they both get married," She dreamily sighs.

Bokuto's smile fades slightly at the edges.

Lady Eiko mirrors him, her hand falls down from where she'd been holding them up, "You two are not fighting, are you?"

"No, we're fine."

"Are you two fighting over the same...person?"

"No," He sees the image of Lady Hiroko's daughter blushing in Keiji's arms, "It's...nothing."

Lady Eiko stands straight in the shadows of market stalls, dust kicking from komodo oxens shuffling through throngs of people and citizens shopping for food and goods. Her voice is kind, "It doesn't sound like nothing to me."

Then all at once, "You know my sister and her wife, right?"

Bokuto freezes.

"It is true that their sons are not of their blood," Lady Eiko murmurs, tapping her chin as she lowers her voice, "I don't know if you're aware of this, but in the Fire Nation, we marry for love first and foremost. I try to give my kids the same chance though sometimes the royal family is excluded from that rule."

Bokuto's embarrassment turns into horror, "I'm not looking to marry your son. And we're not fighting."

"You're alright if I marry him off then?"

When he stares at her, eyes wide, face betrayed, heart pounding so hard that he could see his vision pulse, she smiles, "I'm sorry, sometimes Yozei tells me I'm too mean," She hugs him, "I'm not going to marry my son off, he's free to love anyone he wants, forgive a mother's nosiness."

He mumbles into the wind, so faint that he's impressed her ears picks it up, "Maybe I do like your son."

"I see," She squeezes him again, and he turns red when Lan or Ran peeks out of an empty barrel, showing only her eyes before she crouches back, "Well, I hope my other son feels the same."

"You're not angry?"

She releases him and stares at him, cocking her head, "Why would I be?"

"I-I'm not a bender," He looks down at their shoes and the dusty road, he worries that if Keiji shares the same feelings, citizens wouldn't approve because he's so far out of Keiji's league, "I'm a nobody, I'm just a normal person."

"I think you don't give yourself enough credit," She blinks kindly, "You managed to keep up with Keiji whenever you two are using swords, and you can read and write and understand world politics. You know how to corral air bisons and are connected to the spiritual teachings of the Air Nomads."

"Still, I'm not nobility, not a bender."

Lady Eiko laughs, "My dear, I too, am a nonbender and was a commoner until I bumped into Yozei when he was visiting town."

"You were?"

"The former Fire Lord Shizuka, may she rest in peace," She giggles, "Was so mad that Yozei chose me. Usually they prefer the Fire Lady to be a firebender so any children would be benders. There had been a few nonbenders that ruled the Fire Nation in the past, and they lead very long lives. And you know what?"

His heart is still pounding, like the first time he'd spar with Ma using a real sword, able to draw blood. He could barely hear her quiet voice still, shaking his head to bring himself back to the present, "What?"

"I think my son is fond of you," Her amber eyes nearly glows in the shadows of the stalls. 

Bokuto's heart misses a beat.

It was like she opened up his eyes.

He notices how Keiji remains straight faced with just about every daughter brought along inside the palace with their parents, never speaking to them unless they were speaking first to him. The only girls he willingly speaks to outside immediate family are his cousins and even those conversations are short.

He willingly sweeps the petals off Bokuto's hair when the plum blossom blooms, offers him some cut fruit at dinner, and makes a point to see him at least for a few minutes each day even though he has princely duties and earthbending to do.

"I think the problem is that he's never interested in girls before," Kuroo mumbles into his ear as they watch Tobio step off the Water Tribe ship. Bokuto had confided to Kuroo when the older male tugged him aside several weeks ago and wondered why he kept staring at the prince. "Maybe he's not interested in them."

"So you think he's interested in males only?"

They watch Tobio and Keiji hug. Bokuto smiles brightly and waves when Keiji turns towards them and gestures with his hands, walking down the plank with his guest in tow, trying not to let it show that he's envious.

"Bokuto-san and Kuroo, this is the son of my waterbending master, Tobio," Keiji introduces, guards lined up around them pretending that they don't exist, "Tobio, Kuroo is the son of my swordsmanship teacher and Bokuto-san is the son of my airbending master."

Tobio bows respectfully to them, he's tall like seaweed, towering over Bokuto and Keiji and nearly overtaking Kuroo, "It's nice to meet friends of the Prince."

"Are you visiting?" Kuroo asks, as they ignore the carriages and start the walk from the pier to the city. Several guards follow them in front. Bokuto used to think it was weird to have people scout the street the Prince is on but at this point he pays it no mind.

"Yea, the Prince was worried he'd grown rusty from not ever visiting the North."

Keiji sighs, "It's too far. My parents wouldn't allow it. They only allow the Southern Air Temples and Kyoshi Island."

"You're earthbending now, right?"

At the mention of earthbending, Keiji's face darkens. Bokuto can't help but smile, remembering the ten year long conversation where Keiji confessed to him that he'd be terrible at earthbending. It turns out he was right.

"Yes. My master is Hajime from Gaoling."

"Ah," Tobio hums, starting to sweat from the heat even though he's taken off his fur parka, "I don't know him."

"He is only several years older than us," Keiji says, "Brilliant at earthbending, terrible temper," He sulks.

"I bet he hassles you for your lack of drive."

Keiji raises his eyebrows up at this. Tobio nervously swallows when the group became quiet, "Lack of drive? I say I have plenty of drive to properly learn all the elements and take on my responsibility as the Avatar."

"I didn't mean to offence, it's just..." Tobio frowns, "How should I put this? When I see you waterbend or airbend, everything is flawless, you're great at defensive and evading forms, but when you firebend, I notice that it's not as powerful, like you're constantly holding back."

Keiji's jaw stiffens. Tobio, at the scary expression on the prince, drops the topic completely and turns to Kuroo asking if he's seen an otter penguin before. Kuroo nods vigorously, saying that he was allowed to step off his ship once to ride one down a hill.

Once they've gotten Tobio situated in his rooms, Bokuto joins Keiji in the East Wing, stepping outside and entering the weapons shed. Ma is hammering away on a new blade, sweating profusely and bowing his head in their direction before turning his attention back to his project.

Bokuto tosses Keiji a jian from the wall, picking a katana for himself. Keiji looks tense as they take their positions, bowing to each other and sliding one foot back.

Bokuto strikes forward, "What's wrong?"

Keiji blocks it awkwardly, "Nothing," Bokuto steps back, swings his sword down again and expertly twists the katana out of his hands, both of them watching the blade clatter down onto the courtyard tiles. Ma stops hammering and turns his head to look at them, surprised that the fight lasted so short.

"Doesn't sound like nothing."

Keiji stalks off into the weapons shed, handing him another sword as he removes his outer tunic, "I'm feeling too frustrated to work with swords right now."

Bokuto tries to goad him, spinning his swords easily, "This is a new side of you."

Keiji stares at him, jumping into the air and kicking out flames from his feet. Bokuto dodges, spinning on his heel as Keiji lands and lifts both arms up, water from a pond in a nearby courtyard wrapping around him. He throws one arm out like a whip that Bokuto efficiently cuts, spinning in place and freezing the water like a shield as Bokuto smashes through with a slash.

Bokuto unbalances him with a simple sweep of his legs, his footing uneven from the rubble of rock and ice melting rapidly in the sun. Keiji lands on his back and rolls himself up with airbending. Bokuto is blasted backwards with a strong wind, landing in a huff before putting both swords up as Keiji swings down a sword made of ice that he blocks.

He's never seen Keiji look so frustrated before, not even during earthbending training. Their arms shake, trying to push each other. Bokuto kicks the prince in the chest, watching him tumble off. He swings his swords forward, only to get sand in his eyes from the miniature windstorm Keiji blasts into his face.

"Really?!" He yells, shutting both eyes shut and feeling tears run down his face. He can't even hear Keiji's footsteps anymore, so he tosses his blades down, hearing them ring.

A pause. Then a blow to his kidneys.

Bokuto grimaces, quickly snatching the arm and locking it in a hold that makes the prince cry out. He pushes them both down with his weight until Keiji can't struggle anymore, lying limp.

"I yield," Comes Keiji's annoyed voice.

Bokuto releases his lock and rubs his eyes, managing to see clearly, "Keiji, you could still use your bending you know."

"I'm not in the mood for training right now it seems," The prince mumbles, rolling around so his back is pressed against the courtyard. His hair is covered in dirt and dust, "What Tobio said really bothered me."

"Not all firebenders need to have an aggressive style like your sister."

"But he's right, I always hold back on firebending because I'm not comfortable with it. It's such a destructive element. I've burnt Keiko when I was younger and burnt my parents when I didn't want to listen to them."

"Only because you couldn't control your powers. But you don't burn anyone now, right?"

Keiji continues to sulk. Bokuto listens to Ma hammer away.

"Y'know, Prince—"

"Please don't call me that."

"—I'm disappointed in you," He says coolly, watching Keiji snap his head up, giving him a look of utmost betrayal. "It's difficult, I'm sure, to fully control firebending and all, but it's not impossible, is it?"

"...No," The prince finally says after some time, "It's not."

"You're struggling because you think it's difficult, and maybe that's what holding you back. If you think of it as...an aggressive form of waterbending, would that help? There are similar techniques used between the elements I'm sure."

"You're quite the wise one today, Bokuto-san," He admits with a small smile. "I'll try that. Do you want to come to the stone courtyard with me?"

"Sure," Bokuto happily says, picking up their fallen swords and walking side by side with Keiji to the weapons room.

Tobio leaves a month later. Keiji seems disappointed when he left, waving his arms until the ship disappeared off the coastline. Bokuto is secretly relieved that he's gone, not that Keiji acted any different to him than he is to everyone else.

"It was nice to waterbend again," He smiles to Bokuto, a bundle of very advanced waterbending scrolls in his arms as a goodbye present from Master Homura and Tobio. 

Kuroo also tells Bokuto that he's being called back to service for a few years, wishing him well and telling him he should make a move already. Bokuto pushes him into a pond for talking so loud.

Keiko gets married to the Captain at the teashop, a man called Takeshi. Lady Eiko cried throughout the ceremony, reception and fireworks show. Fire Lord Yozei also had tears swimming in his eyes though he kept them from falling through sheer determination alone when the vows were read. Keiji and Bokuto was then surrounded by admirers during the party though Bokuto wanted nothing more than to dance with him.

"The view is nice at least," Bokuto says as they sit on the roof and watch the gaggle of girls below wondering where they went. They could see lanterns being lit in celebration around the caldera. Keiji produces an apple from his pockets and splits it in half with his hands, handing one to Bokuto.

"None of them your type?" Keiji asks. He's dressed in his fanciest robes, for once out of Fire Nation red. The black and dark grey robes with white and gold trimmings highlights the healthy blush around his cheeks and his golden crown.

"Nah," He looks down at the brunettes who had been trying to crowd him over to the dance floor, eating half the apple in one bite. Fire Nation fruits were always so juicy, and he sucks on the remnant juices running down his fingers, "I prefer black hair. Preferably with a slight curl."

As Keiji becomes riddled with bruises from his training ("Nothing a little healing water can't fix," He says as Bokuto and Lady Eiko fret over his blue and green arms), the Fire Lord surprises his children with a secret technique passed down the royal family— how to bend lightning.

He decides to start harvesting aloe vera plants when the siblings being to sport burn scars.

Ma starts handing him sons and daughters of the nobility that he has to teach, feigning a broken heart that his son is faraway at sea. Bokuto looks him straight in the eyes, unimpressed, as seven eight year olds are running freely in the courtyard, "You're just lazy."

"What was that?" Ma cups a hand around his ear, "You don't want to earn some gold? Very well then—"

"No, no!" Bokuto backpedals, wondering if Kuroo would grow to be as insufferable as his father, "I appreciate it very much, of course, Master Ma."

Keiko burns down an entire bush from frustration that she cannot lightningbend. The palace saw an increase number of smoking plants and irritation from her for the next few months. Yozei reassures her that it took him decades to properly master it.

"You just need patience," The Avatar says one day during dinner, "It's not impossible, it's just difficult."

The Avatar's sister flicks a nut at his forehead, glaring at him across the dining table.

Keiji's earthbending is going nowhere. Hajime is angry, Keiji is frustrated, Bokuto is treading on thin ice because he doesn't want to bring earthbending up and the entire palace pretends that Keiji isn't throwing flaming daggers to let his anger out but to keep his throwing skills sharp.

And then Bokuto gets kidnapped on an errand in the market with the prince.

"You're bait," Hajime says as he ties Bokuto to a boulder on the beach of the east side of the island. Bokuto gawks, watching a falcon fly in circles above him, cheek stinging smartly from where Hajime had punched him when Bokuto attempted to trap his legs around him in a headlock when they were scuffling, "The Prince needs some motivation in his bending practice."

"So I'm motivation? Are you _trying_ to get yourself arrested?"

"Ah, I can hear him stomping through the under bush," Hajime disappears into a frond of bushy leaves. Six highly trained royal guards wearing black robes circle protectively around Bokuto as Keiji leaps out of a bush, sprinting on the sand.

"Bokuto-san! Are you hurt?!"

"No," Bokuto winces as the sand begins to act like glue, Keiji tripping on them as he sprawls on the ground. Keiji doesn't seem to know it's a training exercise, cursing about how no guards followed him even though they relentlessly follow him to the bathrooms. He kicks off with his feet, flipping and standing on a spinning ball of air as he assesses the situation.

"Let him go!" He orders.

The guards descend on him, four punching forward, a solid plume of flame descending as the other two throw swords.

Keiji calls upon the sea beside him as water spins around his waist, the swords bouncing off a shield of ice. He throws his arms to the side, a large sweeping wave of water quickly taking out every guard before running to Bokuto, panting, unearthing a small dagger from under his tunic.

"I can't believe you were taken," Keiji grunts, sawing the rope as quickly as possible, "What kind of rope is this?!"

"AHH!" Bokuto yells, kicking Keiji's shins and causing him to buckle and miss a ball of fire that landed next to Bokuto, the heat hot enough to make his skin blister.

Keiji curses, once again waving with his hand and drawing a large wave of water to crash down onto the guards who have managed to splutter their way up the shore. He then freezes them with a twist of his wrists, panting and holding onto the rock for support.

Keiji creates a small flame on his pointer finger, concentrating until the flame flickers blue, the rope tying Bokuto finally burning. From where he's hidden, Hajime is frowning.

Then Bokuto is tugged away by Keiji as they jog up the beach and back into the unexplored jungle of the island's east side, Keiji ranting about how guards never bothered following him the entire way back to the palace and Bokuto wondering how to break it to him that it was all an exercise, their errand forgotten.

One day, Hajime announces to the Fire Lord and Lady that his training is getting nowhere with Keiji and proposes that they bring over a colleague of his, Sawamura Daichi of Omashu.

"He's not saying you're a bad student!" Keiko says, pouring sake in a large tea cup. Bokuto looks at it with alarm, stirring the custard as Keiko maintains a close eye on the flame. They're making some key lime tarts for Lady Eiko's birthday tomorrow, "You know, some people just work better with different teachers. And at no point did he say that you're terrible at earthbending."

"He said I lack determination and always fall back on airbending or waterbending. He also states that my feet are too light, my firebending movements largely fall on a defensive role and I don't make as much fire power as you when we're sparring," Keiji tosses back the entire cup of sake like it's water, surprisingly sounding like he's still sober.

Bokuto gawks, "Um, is it safe to give that to him? He's already had eight cups."

"Shh it's fine, he's my baby brother," She tells him, going back to rubbing Keiji's shoulders, "That's okay, sometimes defensive training is good. And your firebending has improved a lot over the past month!"

Miserably, "He says I'll fail as the Avatar."

Bokuto drops his mouth, "What a rude bitch!"

Keiji sniffs, " _I know_."

Then he promptly twists his head to the side and vomits.

Sawamura turns out to be exactly what Keiji needed. He seems to have more patience than Hajime and a kinder handling, though their philosophy on bending is exactly the same. He looked much younger than they all thought, hair still entirely black with no lines on his face. 

When Bokuto sends a letter to Konoha on the monthly trades ship, asking whether any of them have heard of Sawamura, he eventually receives a reply several weeks later that says Sawamura belongs to a family of prodigies.

"Very good," Sawamura claps, as Keiji manages to hold off against Hajime's volley of flying boulders, sinking sand and close combat sparring, rock covering their arms and chest where armor would be.

Keiji breathes out, relieved, as attendants spring forward with offers of towels and water. Keiko, from where she's sitting on the engawa, claps the loudest out of all of them.

"Your defense is impeccable, your highness," Sawamura says as they both stand in the stone courtyard, Hajime going off to the side and observing silently, "However, there are advantages of attacking first. I understand it's strange for you to do so, but pretend that someone you care about is being touted away and you're the only thing that's stopping them from being harmed."

"That's a good mindset," Keiji's voice carries as he agrees.

Bokuto tries to offer the leftover custard tarts from Lady Eiko's birthday extravaganza, finding Keiko looking at her little brother with faraway eyes.

"Is everything okay?"

Her amber eyes flickers to him, "I'm just realizing how grown up he's all become," She smiles at him, waving when Keiji turns his head to look at them before starting to spar again against Hajime, "Right when he becomes fully realized he'll be travelling the world."

"How will that even work?" Bokuto frowns, "He's still your prince right? Your parents rarely let the two of you step outside without at least two guards."

"The Fire Lord and Lady have been discussing it with each other. Usually when the Avatar travels, they're by themselves or have an animal companion. As Keiji is a prince," She sighs, "There are complications. Even if we're living in an era of peace right now, you never know when that'll change."

"And what are the cons for letting guards follow him?"

"The other nations might see that as unwelcoming. The Avatar is suppose to be politically neutral, and I know with Keiji being the Avatar, they will never see him as politically neutral. I worry that they'll see the guards as a form of oppression instead of...of what he has here in his every day life."

Bokuto watches Keiji whip a miniature sandstorm into Hajime's eyes, swiftly running on air and using Hajime's arm armor to pin him to the courtyard floor.

"I wouldn't mind going with him when the time comes."

She stares levelly at him, "I know that, Bokuto, Thank you."

His lips quirks up, "But I'm not a bender."

"You're a fantastic swordsman, Bokuto, I mean that in the truest way. You can probably use the heaviest sword in our armory without trouble and take down Father's personal guards, but I don't think that's the wisest choice. You're Fire Nation, dignitaries that have been visiting us for the past decade know you're loyal to the family, and then who knows who else they've been talking to?"

"So essentially I'll get the same treatment as the guards."

She sighs, "I don't know what to do. As the Avatar he has to distance himself as much as he can from being a prince of the Fire Nation but I know I'll blame only myself if he dies because we didn't assign him guards."

Hajime's laughter rings throughout the courtyard as rain starts to fall down, accepting Keiji's hand to pull him off. Both earthbending masters are praising him. Bokuto watches the contrast of expression on the siblings, one happy and pleased and one with impending doom.

The royal family, stressed to their cells about Keiji's impending realization as a fully fledged Avatar, Keiko's pregnancy, the Fire Sages' odd prophetic warning about the downfall of Keiji's life if he doesn't have guards with him, Monk Yasufumi's death, the winter cough that never really went away and the typhoon that hit one of the coastal islands finally made Yozei's and Eiko's remaining hair grey.

So they escaped to Ember Islands for two weeks. Right before they left, Keiko, very pregnant and very irritated at how hot it is, waddling like an otter penguin, pulled Yozei's secretary to the side and threatened to disembowel him if they so much get a letter from any of the palace.

"I want peace! And quiet!" She hisses, Takeshi pushing her away towards the carriages that will carry them to the docks as he nervously laughs and apologizes behind her back.

Keiko spends her entire day sucking iced tea and asking Keiji to freeze the sweat on her skin as a means to cool off.

"Remember when I hated you when we found out?" She sighs, slumping down further on the padded lounge chair on the front porch of their island house, "I take that all back now, I love you."

Keiji laughs, turning his attention back to his watermelons. His parents are wading in the sea with Takeshi and Bokuto trying to make boozy tea now that Keiji is only months away from being of age.

When Keiji sent Sawamura and Hajime back to the Earth Kingdom for two weeks with orders to relax and reconnect with their family and friends, they had told him he should keep up his training with moderate exercises. He does this by swordsman practice with Bokuto every morning and asking Yozei and Takeshi to battle him two on one with a handicap. 

Bokuto never saw the Fire Lord bend, but he is a formidable opponent, even singeing Keiji's eyebrows off one time when he dodged a fireball clumsily and burning all the hairs on Bokuto's arm when they teamed up against him.

That summer did very good things to Keiji, for one, the constant sea spray did great things to his hair. Bokuto stares at it when he knows Keiji isn't looking. It's wavy, textured and bounces whenever he moves his head. Bokuto had gotten woken up in the middle of the night and tried to talk Keiji out from chopping his hair for fear that his attendants will vibrate in anger when they realize they can't tie it into a semi reasonable bun to stick his crown on. 

But that talk didn't last long as Keiji cuts a good five centimetres of hair off, Bokuto biting his nails off during the entire process as clumps of hair fell onto the tiled bathroom floor. Keiji had to make strong tea afterwards, very amused at Bokuto's fretting as he keeps running a hand through his new hair.

He receives a letter from a particularly flashy messenger hawk from Kuroo one day, who's still out at sea.

_Bo,_

_Heard everyone's on Ember Island. Have you rubbed sunscreen on my cousin yet?_

_Your man_

He goes deep into the forest and makes himself a fire to burn the note, face red.

"It's not the right time," He mumbles to the ferns, "He's still training for earthbending, I can't do this to him. He needs to focus."

The ferns does not offer him any advice, as inanimate objects would.

He puts his face in his hands, "Why am I even talking as if he shares the same feelings as me?! What if Lady Eiko was wrong?"

In all of his years living in the palace, he's never seen Keiji with his shirt off. He's always either wearing a full sleeved tunic or a sleeveless one. It's doing weird things to Bokuto's face and heart and blood pressure when he's splashing around with Takeshi and Keiko, his sea salt sprayed hair bouncing everywhere and water droplets doing their best to make him glitter like he's covered in diamond dust.

The two weeks gave him a lot of time to reconnect with his meditation and swimming in extremely cold water from a spring he found inland several meters from the shore.

Keiko gives birth prematurely to a boy, temporarily stepping away from her duties. The palace physicians reassures all of them that the baby had developed enough that there shouldn't be any problems asides from being slightly smaller and weaker in the first few years of his life.

She goes back to meetings every week one month later however, baby Kazuhiko sleeping soundly, strapped to her chest as she looks over zoning laws with heavy bags under her eyes. Takeshi is a constant shadow whenever she's not in meetings, armed with baby paraphernalia. 

The capital city goes into full blown panic when Keiji's twentieth birthday nears. It was a very big deal apparently, Bokuto being dragged left and right by Lady Eiko as she runs around the marketplace to prepare for his birthday celebration.

"Twenty is the coming of age," Lady Eiko is hidden among rows of fabric bolts, "It's a national holiday here in the Fire Nation. And the citizens like a good festivity, especially after that cough that never went away," She darkly mutters, her crown briefly poking out of a row before she goes back diving for fabrics.

"They'll get another one when Kazuhiko reaches twenty years of age."

"It's not the same, you're only twenty once. What do you think of this, dear? Do you think Keiji looks good with glittery black or a midnight indigo?"

As the palace also descends into panic for Keiji's twentieth birthday, the Sages praying for a beautiful gorgeous day (though typhoon season barely ended and it's been raining for a week), Bokuto ponders what to get Keiji. What do you buy for a prince who has everything within a snap of his fingers? Every year he'd always made everyone his special custard for their birthdays because everyone always asks him for them, but turning twenty is special.

He sighs. When Keiko turned twenty, he was too young to understand the importance of the age and gave her flowers he ripped from the Fire Lord's flower garden.

"Hello," He whispers, poking his head into Keiko's study. She waves from her desk, looking up from a pile of papers. "Do you have time for a talk?"

"Kazuhiko's with Takeshi," She says in a normal voice, "Shall we take a walk or do you want to sit down?"

"A walk sounds nice."

They wander among the halls until they reached Lady Eiko's gardens, walking around the engawa as rain continues to pour. Every other wooden beams has a paper talisman for good weather slapped on it.

Keiko frowns at the skies, voice low, "It never rains this much."

"You don't think it's the Sages' prophecy," Bokuto tsks at her. "They said Kazuhiko would be born on summer's solstice but he clearly didn't."

"Mm," She has the same expression as the Fire Lord when he's stuck between two terrible choices. "They told mother Keiji would grow up to be a weak firebender since he was born in November."

Bokuto snorts, "Look at where he is now. They must have said somethings about you too, right?"

"That I would also be a weak firebender. October babies aren't as favored in the Fire Nation. My mother had to keep her head high whenever she was pregnant and in town. I don't know, Bo-kun, I'm just worried."

"Who knows, this could be the prince's unconscious doing. Gloomy weather equals gloomy mood," Bokuto tries to divert her attention away from the row of gardeners trying to relocate the turtle ducks from an overflowing rain gutter to their actual pond.

"Mm," Goes her again. "Your offer is still open?"

"As his guard who's not formally trained? Yes."

"Mmm," She sighs from her nose. Her crown is slowly slipping from her bun. He looks back to see that several hairpins have dropped onto the panels, jogging back and picking them up for her. She quietly thanks him. "It would make everyone relieved if you were to go with him."

"But I'm Fire Nation."

"Yes, I know. I've been thinking about it all day and I would rather make all the Nations think we're up to no good than to leave Keiji defenseless."

Bokuto blinks at her, "Then it's easy, you just need people who are not affiliated with you. Master Hajime and Sawamura seem young enough, would they be open to travelling with him from time to time? We could have a rotation."

"A rotation huh?" He could practically hear the gears in her head churn, "I heard Tobio is also a great waterbender. I wonder if he's interested. It would mean a lot to us if there are several people who can rotate on and off."

"Will you be satisfied with only one travel partner?"

She laughs, "I would be fine if he has someone with him, I'm not sure about the parental unit. Mother probably wants at least two people with him because he's still her baby."

"We can do a test run."

She spins around, pulling her eyebrows together, "What do you mean?"

"Keiji was talking about visiting the Southern Air Temple first when he's done earthbending because he wanted to pay respect to Dad's grave. We could send him to learn more waterbending and earthbending techniques with his travel partners to see what everyone reacts to."

She nods, immediately lengthening her stride, "That's an excellent idea, come with me, we're going to the throne room right now. Father's in a meeting with the Order of the White Lotus, it's an opportune time to mention this."

"What?" He didn't plan this to be the topic of their walk. He needed to ask her what she thought of his present, whether it was appropriate enough for a coming of age present.

"Come!" She orders, laughing and tugging his wrist as they race down the engawa.

The Fire Lord likes his idea, immediately asking Bokuto if he could send out a letter to Tobio. Once Bokuto watches the hawk fly away, he seeks out Hajime and Sawamura after dinner where they're pouring their concentration over a paisho board. Takeshi and Keiji are sparring several courtyards over, fireballs shooting into the sky.

The two earthbending teachers agree easily. Bokuto watches Sawamura as he pulls out a piece of pine needle out of his hair, gawking at the plant and getting to his feet.

"Bokuto?" Hajime calls after him, "Are you okay?!"

"Fine!" Bokuto yells over his shoulders, zooming to his apartments and getting his cloak. Forget the previous present he'd planned, this is an even better one.

Keiji only does light training on his birthday, starting off with his meditation and going through a quick sparring session before lunch. The skies are still gloomy but at least it has stopped raining.The Fire Sages paces around nervously, having being told off by the Fire Lord to stop dampening his son's birthday with life-altering prophecies. 

The palace has multicolored paper lanterns stringing along the pavilions and gardens. Bokuto had woken up early to help the kitchens make all of the prince's favorites. He blearily joins the family for lunch, watching Keiji walk in with black armor polished to the gills and his hair barely holding onto the crown.

"My attendants found out."

Bokuto laughs, watching Keiko sigh and roll her eyes, waving a teething ring in front of a fussy Kazuhiko, "I told you so."

"Good for me that I'm turning twenty today, they can't yell that much at me," Keiji smiles peacefully, looking down at the spread of food. He claps his hands together and gives his thanks, gravitating for some komodo chicken stir fried with vegetables. 

"By the way, I heard you're responsible for my travel partners," Keiji murmurs into his ear as the Fire Lord creates several balls of dancing flames to distract Kazuhiko.

"You're not angry, are you?"

"No. It'd be nice to not have to travel alone, though..." He trails off warily, "I hope you're allowed to come? I know the Order has agreed to Tobio."

A name that once raised his hackles gives him no animosity, "I am. I volunteered."

"Thank you," Keiji's eyes are soft. Bokuto feels his cheeks lift into a smile when Keiji straightens in his seat, spreading his palm on the table with an odd look in his eyes.

Bokuto's attention is drawn to the soup vibrating on the table, the green onions floating away from the middle even though his spoon is still on the table.

A loud horn pierces through the air. Kazuhiko starts wailing, Keiko woodenly scooping him up as she exchanges glances with Lady Eiko. 

"We have to evacuate," Yozei looks across the room at his guards, several of them immediately starting to escort Keiko out of the door, her personal guard right at her side, "Eiko, you're to lead Keiko and the staff to higher grounds beyond the caldera. I will go down to the marketplace and—"

"I'm going outside to help," Keiji says, running out of the room. 

"Keiji!" The Fire Lord yells after him to come back, catching Lady Eiko around her wrist and wrestling her back, "No Eiko! You absolutely cannot go!"

"Where is he running off to?" She scrabbles against his hold, her personal guards leaping out of the shadows and pushing her towards the door. "Yozei! Ran! Help him!"

Bokuto wordlessly runs after Keiji, seeing a large swell of wave begin to gather at the horizon, a swirling mass of grey and clouds above as he passes window after window, Lady Eiko's guard beside him as they both sprint down long corridors.

Ran pushes him out of the way just in the nick of time to avoid a body pile up, the kitchen staff running for the south exit of the castle.

"Prince!" He yells, in the opposite direction of the evacuation. 

Keiji leaps slightly up and zips ahead, propelled by air. Bokuto curses and quickens his pace, out of the West Wing, down the stairs of the main corridor and out into the front lawns of the palace, wishing he could bend any element to aide him.

It's a complete mess outside. The horn is still blaring, thousands of citizens spilling out of their houses and trying to climb the cliffs that lined the city. Keiji is already leaping above the caldera, foregoing the gates that are closing as Bokuto yells for him. His hair is standing on end.

Ran yells for the gates to not completely close.

When he and Ran manages to slip past the gates, the wave is already breaking down onto the pier, hundreds of ships smashed against the cliff wall and the far out houses flattened. Palm trees are churning in the water, a steady wall of brown advancing with leaf, housing and boulders coming at high speeds.

The sky flickers.

"Keiji!" He hollers. There was no way he could fight the tsunami off by himself, near master of all elements or not.

"Whatever you do," Ran yells to him as they continue to leaps down steps, "Do NOT go into the water!"

He's bumping into people of all sorts fighting for higher ground, seeking to get on the caldera. Several visiting earth benders are making platforms and evacuating people that way. Bokuto swims through hysteria and panic, running past the very stalls he and Lady Eiko passed through months ago when he stops and looks down below at the pier and the lower grounds.

"Are you insane?!" He roars at the tiny figure of Keiji surfing his way on a slab of ice towards the falling wave, arms windmilling. If the water hits them, the caldera and capital will be submerged underwater. The skies flicker again, he and Ran are looking at each other, thinking of the exact same thing. "Prince Keiji!"

"You will be electrocuted!" Ran roars. He's amazed at how well her voice carries. "Your Fire Lord has ordered you to return!"

Keiji waves his small arms around. The wave wobbles precariously, wavering in the air as it stills. For one second, it looked like it worked.

Then the crest starts tipping forward.

"No!" Bokuto lunges forward, leaping off the edge.

He feels powerless as he free-falls through the air, watching the wave completely hide the prince from view. Someone is yelling in his ear and then there's suddenly a sturdy earth platform below him and Ran clutching his arm.

Then lightning strikes and a sound that resembles a minor explosion booms across the sky.

The very sea flickers like stars, the point of impact turning white and cascading outwards. There was a faint outline of a man being swept around with the wreckage of houses swirling around him. Bokuto can see shingles from roofs, several bodies of ships, uprooted trees and flora slamming into him. Another noise that sounds like an explosion.

Bokuto falls to his knees, staring at nothing but the sea that swallowed him, the waters dark again. The wave is still advancing towards them.

"Look."

"What?" He asks, dazed.

"Look."

The skies flicker again and he sees it, a small humanoid figure in the middle of the ocean, waving his arms around, eyes pure white and glowing. 

The Avatar shoots out of the ocean, surfing on the waves, past the destruction of the pier and marketplace, past the vantage point Ran had earthbended, past the struggling citizens still fleeing.

He stops on top of the caldera, striking an odd pose, one knee bent, the other leg pointed forward, arms lowered.

Then he stomps his foot, fissures forming in the ground and towering walls shooting out of the earth, halting more water from entering the pier. They stand nearly as tall as the cliffs surrounding them, casting a dark shadow over the town. Keiji lifts his arms high over his head, the wave of water rising over the entire city like a large, trembling umbrella as he funnels the dirty water away. Broken planks, trees and small boulders litter the ground where the wave hit.

Lightning continues to flicker every now and then, thunder being muffled by the roar of water slapping against the earth wall. When one bolt zips close to Keiji, he reaches out, allowing electricity to flow into his body and shoots it out the other arm back into the sky.

Keiji then pushes off the caldera, soaring over the city in a leap, standing on the top of the walls he built.

He takes an inhale and slowly breathes out, freezing a few miles of ocean surrounding the bay as the waves recede until the seas are calm. The electric feeling in the air goes away, it's cool now to Bokuto's skin.

Ran's breath puffs out in little clouds as she gazes at the muddy city, citizens safely huddled in large groups on earth platforms on the rock cliffs.

"Prince!" Bokuto yells, watching the figure stand straight, looking out to the sea. When the Avatar turns, the light is fading from his eyes. Keiji blinks back at him, dazed and pale and looking around him like he remembers nothing that happened in the past half hour.

Then his eyes slowly slides shut as he falls down.

"What a birthday," Keiko says, all of the royal family plus honoured guests hovering over Keiji's bed. He hasn't woken up since he fell unconscious. Bokuto had sent bombarding messages to any spiritual leaders out there, telling the hawk to peck their hands until they write a reply. Lady Eiko had never looked so subdued, silently watching her son from where she's sitting beside her daughter.

The Fire Lord had been coming and going, trying to attend to the matter of his city in literal shambles while hoping Keiji would wake up soon.

"It must be taxing to bend that much at a high level," Sawamura says, respectfully some feet away from the bed as he and Hajime continue to crush herbs the Fire Sages had been telling them to slather over Keiji's chi channels, "He could be resting or talking with his past lives."

A series of pecks sends all of them running for the nearest window, the messenger hawk feebly hopping away to rest as Bokuto elbows everyone out of the way and reads the first letter.

"It's from Master Homura.... He says ' _slipping into the Avatar state, especially as this is his first one, is taxing on the body and spirit. I do not expect the Prince to wake up anytime soon, but make sure there is a tureen of congee that is light on the stomach ready for him,_ '" He glares down at the parchment, "This is not helpful."

"I'll arrange it," Lady Eiko says woodenly, rising to her feet and making her way out of his room. Hajime looks worried, following her without a word.

"What did the Sages say?" Sawamura asks Keiko. Her features darken slightly.

"Said he's cursed. I think that we've been doomed since the start of the year with that typhoon hitting one of our smaller islands in May."

A second messenger hawk flies through the open window. It collapses on the ground, carrying a blood stained parchment from Sawamura's home town.

Bokuto scans it, "There was an earthquake off the southeastern borders, it destroyed Fuzheng and the Zeishou province. No wonder the waves that hit us was that high. It's not a curse at all."

"Well that's good," A weak voice from the bed mumbles. Everyone turns their head to see Keiji blearily rub his eyes, "Here I thought I have to go through a purification ceremony again."

"Prince!" Sawamura breathes, relieved.

"I'll get Mother," Keiko says, racing out of the room.

Sawamura and Bokuto creep closer to him. Keiji smiles at them, so exhausted that he couldn't open his eyes fully, "So, what's the damage?"

"I think majority of taxpayer money will have to go to rebuilding the city next year, your highness," Bokuto solemnly says, "But on the bright side, everyone is grateful that you stopped further destruction on the island."

"Look alive, Prince," Sawamura warns in a warm tone, stepping back as the doors burst open, Yozei, Eiko and Keiko immediately heading for Keiji. The palace physician and several Fire Sages swarm inside next, patiently waiting for the Fire Lord to stand aside.

Once Lady Eiko had been reassured enough by the palace physician that Keiji's chi is fine and his body just needed lots of rest, she felt certain enough to return to the throne room with Yozei. Bokuto, on his way from carrying the third tureen of congee from the kitchens, passed by and peeked inside, immediately shutting the door as all the ministers are arguing with the Fire Lord and Lady, a sea of papers on the floor.

Keiko left some hours later, needing to feed Kazuhiko and join her parents in the throne room. Sawamura followed her out, saying that he should aid Hajime before he goes to sleep. Bokuto had finished recounting his story to Keiji, who's now on his fifth bowl of mango pudding, surrounded by cushions and empty plates.

"I redirected lightning?"

"Yes. It looked very cool," He doesn't look away from Keiji, remembering how painful the thought of losing him earlier in the day had been.

Keiji looks at his hands, mildly amused, "I don't even have burns or anything."

"Were you aware of what you were doing?"

"No," Keiji sighs, looking up at Bokuto, raking a hand through his hair, "I knew that I was drowning and the next thing I knew, I was standing on top of the walls looking out to a calm sea. It believable though, I feel like I'd bended a lot today. I guess my father would need my help tearing down the walls tomorrow."

"Absolutely not, your highness!" Bokuto squawks, "Just stay in bed. Please. I can't lose you."

Keiji looks at him for a moment. Bokuto fights off a blush, hoping that the prince was too tired to connect A and B together.

The prince's throat clicks, "We're alone, there's no need for titles."

Bokuto breathes out in relief, "Force of habit. I figure it's best to err on the side of caution than have my head on a pike for calling you without your title. What will your father's secretary think?"

He smiles, "You're already one of us."

"One of the Fire Nation citizens, not one of you," Bokuto takes the empty bowl away from Keiji's hands, "Anyway, I'll let you rest. You've had a long day and I'm sure Lady Eiko will be in here starting dawn to watch over you and feed you more nasty herbs."

"Would you stay, Bokuto-san?" Keiji trails off, gesturing to his large bed. "Just like kids again?"

Bokuto halts in place, holding a tower of clay pots and porcelain bowls on a tray. Keiji looks back at him, nervously clutching his blankets though his face is impassive and cool.

"Your mom—"

"Is not a firebender. You rise with the sun everyday," Keiji says, scooting over and patting the space, "It's my birthday anyway."

"This is your wish? Just to have a slumber party again?"

"I miss the simple days, don't you?"

"Simple," Bokuto repeats, going to the wardrobe and hiding behind the door as best as he can as he borrows Keiji's sleepwear. His shirt still smelled like seawater and mud when he helped Ran scale the towering wall to bring Keiji down. "Have you ever thought of what it would be like if you weren't the Avatar? I would be in the Southern Air Temple, helping out with the temple, not knowing what the world would have to offer."

"...I would probably be a General to the Navy," Keiji says when Bokuto walks out of the wardrobe. He's shuffled over to the left, leaving Bokuto to slide in and occupy the right side of the bed. He's staring at the ceiling like he could see an alternate universe, "And support my sister when she takes the throne."

"Master of firebending."

"Perhaps."

"Master of swords."

"That was when we were younger. I'd say you've surpassed me," Bokuto's chest warms at the praise.

"Thanks to Master Ma."

"Thanks to Master Ma," Keiji echoes. "I never asked, but do you miss being at the temples? We rarely visit even though part of the promise with Monk Bokuto was to let you visit there every few years."

Quietly, Bokuto says, "I like it here. It's my home now."

The candlelight barely flickers anymore, darkness falling onto the room. Keiji mumbles, "Oh."

"Surprised?"

"I've always wondered if we stole you from a few friends."

"No," Bokuto yawns, tugging the blanket over him. If he extends his leg slightly, he would hit Keiji's ankle. The bed had been so large when they were smaller that they could happily roll around and not knock into each other, "Yes there are friends, but I've always felt isolated there. I'm glad I came here."

Keiji hums sleepily, extinguishing the light by force of will, "Good night, Bokuto-san."

"Night, Prince."

They don't wake up with their limbs wrapped around each other, but Bokuto feels refreshed as he sees the first wave of indigo hit the dark blue skies. He twists around to see Keiji stare at him, awake and calm.

Keiji points to the area directly in front of his bed, a large pine tree painting hanging, nearly taking up the entire length of the wall.

"Thank you."

Bokuto smiles, "How'd you manage to get it? I thought it was still in my room."

"I'm the prince, the servants can't resist my bossy attitude."

"Right, because you're not the nicest person on the island."

"The word nice doesn't exist in Hajime's dictionary. He thinks I'm spineless."

Bokuto wiggles closer to him, "I know his weakness. You should exploit it."

"Oh?"

"He can't drink hippo cow milk without disappearing to the bathrooms for a bit."

Keiji hoarsely laughs, "You're evil, Bokuto-san."

"I am _not_ evil!" Bokuto grins, "Master Ma taught me to watch my opponents and to exploit any weakness they have."

"Hm. That's not very honorable of him."

"Who played all those pranks during our last visit to the Southern Air Temple?"

"That was you."

Bokuto gasps, offended, "How dare you!" He tackles Keiji as the prince flails his sharp elbows, hitting Bokuto's stomach. Bokuto resists a wince and begins tickling Keiji, muffling his laugh as Keiji squirms around like a slug.

"As your prince!" Keiji gasps, trying to sound stern, "I command you to stop!"

"You're no fun! I have to take every advantage!" The sun is streaming in now, a weak glow hitting the burnt orange colored bed sheets. Bokuto is still hovering above him, watching Keiji's hair fan around his head. It reminds him of Ember Island and he immediately blushes.

"Bokuto-san, you know," Keiji starts, suddenly propped up on his elbows and gazing intently up at him. He opens his mouth and then falters.

Bokuto blinks down at him, wondering what there was to say when Keiji's face slowly turns pink, then red. He's not looking at Bokuto anymore, instead glaring at the blanket separating them. Bokuto has a nagging feeling that he knows exactly what Keiji is thinking, his mother's words from the market echoing in his head.

"Hey um," He starts, because out of the two of them, he figures he has nothing to lose. If Keiji kicks him out of the palace, he figures he could get a job by one of the noodle shops by the docks. "So I've been lying to you for my entire life."

That was not what Keiji wanted to hear. The blush promptly fades away and he smooths his expression into one of wary acceptance, "Lie? What kind of lie?"

"Have I ever told you I like your eyes?" He blurts out, nerves shot from the booting out he'll have soon when Keiji dismisses him from the palace and sends him packing. Those same eyes turn even more confused.

Then he slaps a hand to his own face, "No, no! Ignore that, that was not what I going to say."

"Your lie," Keiji prompts. He looks less like Keiji his childhood friend and more like Keiji when he found out Kazuhiko chewed his favorite braided cord bracelet Bokuto made for him back when they were nine.

"Right," Bokuto says nervously. He's still above Keiji. He often has dreams like this, of him on top and Keiji below him, the searing sun roasting their skin, or Keiji on top of him— he shakes his head, "My lie."

Keiji waits patiently as the sun continues to rise, peeking over the caldera and painting his room in shades of oranges and golds. The burnt orange sheets reminds Bokuto that he's the prince of a nation and he's...no one important.

Keiji detects his change in expression, "Bokuto-san?"

"I've liked you," He rasps, looking at a pillow, a thread work of dragons sewn by an expert hand, "Since we were children. I've had to hide it from you for obvious reasons, but I thought you should know."

Keiji is quiet, then his cool fingers wraps around Bokuto's shoulders. Bokuto's head gets pulled from the pillow to Keiji's serious face when he gets elbowed in the ribs, letting out a yell and trying not to squish the Avatar with his weight when Keiji kisses him, lips parted.

Bokuto could only describe it like the first day he learnt self defense with Ma, who had demonstrated how easy it was to flip people over his shoulder and gently, but firmly, tossed Bokuto to the ground. All the air in his lungs had rushed out back then, and it took him several moments and Ma starting to panic before Bokuto breathed again. He only knows of Keiji's mouth moving, the ten thousand threat count of his bed sheets pressing against his arms and how hot his face is.

Keiji nips his mouth, leaning back as the sun hits his face. He's grinning unabashedly at him.

"I thought Kuroo was..."

Bokuto makes a face, " _Kuroo?_ Your cousin, Kuroo? No, no he's not my type."

Keiji blinks, "What about black curls?"

"Who else around me has black curls?" Bokuto asks, realizing too late, "Wait no, don't say your mother, I don't like her that way!"

Keiji laughs loudly. Bokuto's neck and shoulders are starting to cramp, so he rolls past the prince and lies on his back, listening to the gardeners putter around outside and Kazuhiko wail somewhere in another wing of the palace. 

"Well I'm glad the feeling is mutual," The prince says lightly, still grinning. Bokuto could get used to this. He hasn't seen Keiji smile so wide since the vacation to Ember Island. He leans forward and kisses Bokuto again, eventually straddling Bokuto's front.

Bokuto responds enthusiastically. He thinks he could get used to this every now and then, a reprise from the fussy sons and daughters of the nobility who refuse to listen to his teaching.

Then Keiji pulls back, eyes wide, "Hide."

Someone knocks. Bokuto immediately dives beneath the bed, curling up as Lady Eiko enters, heart hammering. His mouth is still wet and sticky.

"Keiji, I heard voices?"

"The window is open. I was saying hi to the gardeners."

She shuffles closer to his bed. Bokuto tries not to breathe, pretending that he is the wind and he doesn't exist, "I'm glad you're awake. I told Hajime and Sawamura to fend off from training until your strength comes back."

"Thank you."

"That's a handsome painting. A present?"

"From Bokuto-san."

"So sweet," She sighs, "Shall I let everyone know to expect both of you to come in together?"

There was a silence so quiet a pin could drop. Bokuto lies frozen on the ground before someone sighs and Keiji's face appears, bending sideways, "Come out."

Bokuto couldn't meet Lady Eiko's eyes as he pats his borrowed pyjamas free of dust. Keiji's face is as red as his, both of them standing too straight and trying not to touch each other at all. Lady Eiko hides her mouth behind her long sleeves, contemplating them with cool eyes. If there was anything the son and mother share, it was their incredibly good poker face.

Keiji sighs, linking his hands with Bokuto, who swivels his head and looks at him in alarm.

"There's no point in hiding it, Mother is an accomplished gossiper."

Lady Eiko airily laughs, "My dear, you're not as smart as you think. Yozei and I were your age too, once."

"Thank you for the unwanted imagery."

"Anyway," She beams happily at them, slightly misty eyed, going to the door, "I will let the kitchens know to prepare red bean rice. Do arrive on time, yes? I'll make sure they have some mango pudding for you."

They both chime to arrive on time, watching the door to his bedroom click shut. Keiji squeezes their hand together, both of them slumping on the bed.

"That was more scary than facing a rampaging Ma that one time we knocked down his entire wall of swords," Bokuto says.

"Mm," Keiji agrees, "It takes the kitchens at least half an hour to prepare that rice."

Bokuto eyes him, raising one brow, "And you have something planned, oh master strategist?"

Keiji grins, turning slightly pink in the ears, "If I say I do?"

"Well it depends on what it is," Bokuto says, leaning in and kissing him. Keiji's hand immediately gravitates to his arms and shoulders, gripping them. They'll likely be put to work on rebuilding the houses that had been ripped apart from the tsunami later that week, but all of that can wait.

Right now, he just enjoys Keiji's cool hands, both of them falling down onto his bed sheets as the sun continues its trek across the sky.

> fire

"When is Uncle going to arrive?" Kazu huffs, staring at the gates as his mother rolls her eyes, looking up from a book from her perch on the engawa. Her crown sparkles in the sunlight.

"Fire Lord Keiko—" Her secretary tries, before his mother shoos him away with a wave of her hand.

"Not now, the Avatar deserves my entire attention. He's been gone for too long."

Kazu sulks, watching his father pat his hair for any fly aways, more of the palace staff coming out onto the front courtyard as they gaze around. He spots his grandparents nearby, shuffling underneath some shade as the afternoon sun reaches its peak.

Mizuki sighs, leaning against the railings, "He's late, isn't he?"

"Perhaps he was held up," Father says in a matter-of-fact tone, "Didn't he have to make an emergency stop in Gaoling one time?"

"To look for Master Hajime's missing fiance? I can't believe Tobio's adopted brother could be so dumb."

"Your tongue is sharp as ever, dear. Tooru-kun is an exceptionally bright waterbender, he just—"

"Had nerves before the wedding, blah blah blah, he could have arrived on time for my coronation though if it weren't for him," Mother grumbles. She squints up at the clouds, watching them before standing to her feet, grinning.

Kazu leaps to his feet, looking up at the skies as well, " _Did you see them did you see them?!_ "

A white bison starts to descend, a driver at the front as two people in the saddle begin to wave their arms at them.

"It's Uncle Kuroo!" Mizuki leaps to her feet, her gap tooth smile visible. They see several more heads peek out of the saddle, one man with spiky hair in particular clutching the frame with his eyes shut, dressed in a set of dark green robes. "And Uncle Konoha!"

The air bison lands in the front courtyard, Uncle Kuroo immediately sliding off Rima's head and embracing Mizuki and Kazu in a big hug. Mother runs up, Father a step behind her, as she greets Uncle Konoha and a very excited Uncle Tobio with a hug.

The Avatar leaps off the saddle next, landing lightly on his feet as Kazu and Mizuki crowd around him, asking where he'd been for the past few months and if he'd brought them snacks and toys

"Of course I brought some," Uncle Keiji says, airbending with a sharp jerk of his chin some bags of Earth Kingdom fruit and frozen berries from the South Pole that come flying down from the saddle. Kazu cheers.

"You're not cheering for me?" Uncle Koutarou slides down Rima's fluffy tail, wearing the same robes Uncle Keiji has, the dark red, nearly black one with a golden trim though he lacks the travelling cloak. Kazu hops up to him, asking if they could play with some swords when Mother's birthday passes and goes.

"I think turning five is a very important age, so of course! And I have a little gift for you since we missed your birthday."

Kazu jumps around in excitement, seeing the servants starting to load off bags and blankets off the air bison's back and trying to coax it around the palace to the outdoor stables that was constructed some time after his birth. Uncle Koutarou hands Kazu and his little sister Uncle Keiji's fire ferret, Taro, for safekeeping while Rima is shuffled away.

Kazu races to his grandparents and babbles at a hundred miles per hour about Uncle Koutarou's promise. His grandparents ooohs and aahs appropriately at him and Mizuki as the front courtyard is quickly emptied and everyone is herded into the dining hall where food and refreshments would be.

Mother is handing out some adult juice, careful not to let Kazu or Mizuki any of the dark red stuff. She frowns at the two extra cup on her platter, "Who are we missing?"

Uncle Kuroo snorts, standing next to his father, a wizened sword master who scares the living daylights out of Kazu. Taro is sitting on his head, sniffing the air hopefully, "Bo and Keiji."

Kazu volunteers to find them, running off with a guard shadowing him for protection. He races back outside to the empty front courtyard, seeing several attendants pushing a wheelbarrow full of hay and sneezing constantly. He decides to stroll through the West and East Wing, finding nothing. He checks the South Wing briefly, the kitchens in an uproar over making Uncle Keiji's favorites.

Out of ideas and hungry, he rounds back to the front again, deciding to peek into the tea room grandmother likes to use. He spots a man with dark curls and another man, slightly taller, with white streaks in his short hair, arms loosely around each other as they gaze at a pine tree.

They eventually bend down at the little shrine at the base of the tree. Kazu has ran past it many times but never bothered to give it a closer look, watching his uncles light some incense and put some mandarin oranges onto the little dais, a small trail of smoke floating up into the sky.

"We're back, Dad," Uncle Koutarou grins. "Konoha is with me visiting. He let us borrow Rima on the ride back from the Southern Air Temples..."

Kazu watches quietly as Uncle Koutarou quickly recounts his run in with a pack of polar bear dogs in the South and how Uncle Keiji nearly skinned him alive for using Taro as distraction, getting sucked in temporarily by the story telling. He hovers at the entrance of the tea room, unsure if he should call out their names or leave them to be when Uncle Keiji spots him and steps into the tea room.

"Is your mother wondering where I am?"

"Uh huh."

Uncle Keiji turns to look at his husband, humming slightly under his breath, "It won't be long. She can start the party if everyone is hungry."

"Okay!" He says quietly, running back to the dining hall and telling Mother that the uncles are occupied and wondering loudly why Uncle Kuroo started choking on a biscuit, Uncle Konoha making a disgusted face as he airbends the cookie out of his throat and hisses that there are children in attendance.

Mother tells him that she'll tell him when he's much, much older, shooting a scowl at Uncle Kuroo.

**Author's Note:**

> if you're reading this, thank you for finish the clusterfuck that is this fic, im awed that you manage to read this far. i am going to now pass out.
> 
> as always, please wash your hands and wear some sort of mask when going outside. -finger guns in night shift-
> 
> a series of headcanons that never/barely made it into the fic  
> 1) yachi and kiyoko are airbenders. prince keiji eventually befriends them on his visit to the eastern air temples  
> 2) oikawa is the adopted older brother of master homura's son, kageyama. he leaves for the southern water tribe and inevitably stumbles across gaoling and our favorite short tempered earthbending master  
> 2.5) yes, he ran away on his wedding day for a bit, surfed on a piece of ice to clear his head and lost his bearings until keiji found him bawling on a piece of glacier. he and hajime lives on kyoshi island once everything settles  
> 3) keiji's animal companion is a fire ferret, a present from bokuto when he successfully mastered his avatar state. taro keeps him company when bokuto is back in the fire nation and is a fashionable scarf when keiji drapes him across his neck  
> 3.5) he names it taro because it's similar to koutarou. it's very gross and cute, ik. keiko heckles him daily about it whenever keiji isn't off traipsing around the world and running into danger  
> 4) kuroo eventually marries sawamura. his ship gets stranded often near the earth kingdom...due to...unforeseen and mysterious circumstances.  
> 5) keiko masters bending lightning much later in her life to her delight  
> 6) konoha Totally RegretsTM joining team avatar, especially when he has to share a tent with bokuto and remembers how loudly he snores  
> 7) bokuto, when he's not travelling the world or teaching kids about the finer points of throwing daggers, is a master pie baker


End file.
